Silver Wings
by Sky2585
Summary: Skylar has been experimented on the school since she was 7, when her parents sold her to the scientists who gave her wings. When the flock comes to break out more mutants from the school, they find her. They make her apart of the flock, but they don't know just how wanted she is by the school. Fang/OC, (Under construction.)
1. Chapter 1: All of Them

**Hi guys, so another little disclaimer, I own nothing except my OC and my own story-line. Don't forget, please leave a review if you liked the story, have constructive criticism for me, or have any story ideas. I'm open to suggestions and thoughts for the plot. Thanks, hope you enjoy.**

8 Years Prior:

"No!" I screamed as I punched, kicked, and slapped the two men restraining me. "Help!" I yelled, "Help me!" It was pointless, and I knew it was pointless. No help would come from my parents, who stood off to the side of the doorway, eyes cast to the ground as if they couldn't bear the guilt of seeing me being taken away, of it being their faults.

"How could you do this to me?" I snarled at my mother and father. "We do love you," my mother told me, and I softened for a moment at the sadness that coated her voice. My father just scoffed. My mother may have loved me, but he never would.

"You-" I was interrupted by a hand smacking across my face. "You will not speak to your father that way," my dad told me strictly. That was all it took for my rage to consume me once more, "You are not my father, you have never been my father," I spat menacingly. My mom winced, but my father just chuckled.

That was all I remembered of that time before blacking out and waking up on a lab table, needles and IV's in my arms, and a knife digging into my back. They had been giving me a pair of 16 foot, silver wings, feathers and all. And I had felt every minute of it. It was agony, but through my pain, a man had stood in the corner of the room. His arms had been folded over his chest and an amused gleam in his eyes told me he was playing a game, a game I would never win. Then he uttered the words that would ring in my head and haunt my nightmares for a long while, "Welcome to the School, Skylar Clarke."

Modern Day:

My back was stiff and body protested with pain as I lifted my head from the floor of my crate to take in my surroundings. It was the same room. The same fluorescent lights illuminated the room, the same horrid antiseptic smell filled my nose, and the same cold eyes met my gaze.

"As always, Test Subject #2, I'm impressed. Your pain tolerance never ceases to amaze," Jeb said, managing to make the complement seem menacing. "Your experiment was a success." I just gave him a wry grin and retorted, "And your ability to do the unthinkable and inhumane continues to astonish me daily." The malicious grin left his face as he said, "You may think I'm wicked and evil, but you have no idea of the countless lives I could save with the sciences we are testing in this lab."

"I don't think you're wicked, I know you are," I spat, "and what you're telling me is you're saving countless lives at the expense of other countless lives." "You would never understand," he remarked coldly, before tossing an apple through a slot in my cage then sealing it once more. "Go to hell," I quipped, as Jeb strode out of the room. "Will do, Sweetie."

I flopped onto my back and took a small bite of the apple. It wasn't sweet, it wasn't tasteful, and it's juice didn't quench the seemingly never ending thirst in the back of my throat. It was genetically modified to nothing but provide me with nutrients, and nothing else.

I am relentless, I am strong, I am resolute, I told myself repeatedly, hoping it would become true one day. Because currently, I was breaking. I was both externally and internally being torn to shreds, and I didn't know how much more of it I could take.

But I couldn't focus on that, so I tried not to. I simply focused on my breathing, on the rising and falling of my chest, acknowledging that it was there. That I was alive and breathing. But just being alive isn't living, and I didn't know if I would ever live again.

I was torn out of my thoughts by hushed voices in the hallway outside my room. "We have to get everyone out," said a voice that was most definitely female. "And die in the process! No, we're leaving and getting out of this place once and for all," whispered another voice that was deep and masculine, even in a whisper.

"Fang, please, think of all the people around us, of who ever's in the room beside us, they are like we were, Fang. Tormented and tortured, destined to stay here until the end of their painful existences, we can't leave them. You wouldn't leave if it was one of the flock in these rooms." And with those quiet words, the door of my room was opened to reveal six children, three of which look around my age.

Two of them looked almost identically, except for the difference in gender, with wide, innocent blue eyes and golden hair, they appeared to be the youngest. The third youngest was a girl with brown, wide, bambi eyes and chocolate colored skin.

One of the older boys had strawberry blonde hair and glazed over blue eyes. He was obviously blind. The other older boy had jet black hair, and dark eyes to match, with his pale skin and black attire, he looked like an angel of death. The girl, the one who I thought had been the one to convince them to save me, had light brown hair with amber brown eyes.

"Oh, look at her hair!" The Bambi eyed girl exclaimed. "It's so pretty, look Max, it's silver!" That was the one difference that had appeared in me that had startled me the most since I'd been at the School.

My hair, once black and raven, had turned silver due to one of the medications and drugs they had given me. So it now fell to my waist in a shade of silver to match my silver-grey eyes.

"Nudge, now is not the time to worry about hair, Fang get the key to her crate," the girl who was evidently called Max ordered. Fang did as he was told and grabbed the key off of the hook it hung on by the door and unlocked my crate. "Who are you people?" I asked as I crawled out of the cage I had lived in for years.

"We can do introductions later, for now, let's just try and make it out of here alive," Max said to me, her tone grim. "How do I know this isn't some kind of test? That you're not here to murder me?" I questioned. And the sudden truth of what I had said hit me, it could just be a test. One of Jeb's plans to see how much it would take for me to break.

"It's not a test, and we're trying to harm you, we're trying to help you," Fang said, and for a brief second his eyes looked upon with sympathy, understanding, and compassion. Then he simply walked out into the hallway. The rest of the group began to file out of the room as well until only the little angelic girl stood, looking at me expectantly with her hand outstretched.

Without thinking about what I was doing I clasped her hand and joined everyone in the hallway. "Okay, so there are four more rooms-" Max began, but suddenly an alarm sounded, one so loud it felt like my skull had cracked open and my ears were bleeding. Flashing red lights filled the hallway.

I clutched my head and began to shake. It was so loud, but none of the other's even flinched, like they didn't hear it to the extent I did. "Are you okay?" Inquired the girl who had commented about my hair. "Nudge, back up," Max told the girl. She jumped out of the way as Max and Fang kneeled down to where I was on my knees, clutching my head.

"It's loud isn't?" Max asked. I attempted to nod. Fang lifted his head and glanced around the hallway, his face paled. "Max, they're coming, we have to go." "Just wait a minute," she snapped. She turned to me once more, "Okay, focus on our heartbeats. Not the alarm, not the lights, just one of our heartbeats," she told me.

So I tried. I narrowed in my acute hearing on the loudest thump of a heart there was in the hallway. It was steady and rhythmic, it blocked out the alarm. I released the death grip on my forehead and began to stop trembling. I rose from the floor, "Let's go."

Fang nodded, "The nearest exit is a window near the labs, can you fly?" In response, I unfolded my wings, the red flashes glinting off their silver feathers. That was when I noticed wings protruding out of all of their backs. They were like me.

"Okay, great, let's get moving," Max ushered, her voice betrayed her urgency. Max took the blind boy's hand, and the little girl reached for mine once more. "I'm Angel, by the way," she told me, before the group took off at a run.

I kept up with them easily, Jeb's physical tests had ensured I would be able to run as fast as necessary in any situation. Angel stumbled and I righted her before continuing to sprint until we reached the labs. Around us examination tables were lined up in rows, and the antiseptic smell was stronger here than anywhere else in the School.

The window, it was across the room. I was forty feet from freedom, and I was terrified. "Come on," Max's determination was almost scary. She yanked a metal pole from the leg of one of the tables and swung it at the window with unbelievable force.

The glass shattered and fell to the ground in shards. I completely unfurled my wings, all sixteen feet of them, and Nudge looked a little awe-struck. I smiled before I felt a solid and forceful figure slam into my side, sending me fly across the room. The eraser retreated back to the doorway. I looked up, Jeb stood in the doorway, erasers gathered around him. "Skylar, you wouldn't be planning on leaving would you?"

I snarled, "So it's Skylar now, not Test Subject #2?" "Oh Dear, you've always been Skylar, but we needed to break you. Although that proved to be more difficult than expected." Jeb's grin was malicious and sickening.

I heard a sharp intake of breath from behind me. Max was pale and shaking with fury. "You!" She screeched. "Max, lovely to see you, I see the flock is doing well," Jeb gestured to the rest of them. The flock, I wondered silently, like birds.

"You won't touch them," Max's voice was low and menacing. "And I won't, well, that is if you give me the girl." My heart sank, I was headed back to my crate, back to the needles, labs, and scientists. My taste of freedom was over before it had even started.

Because they wouldn't help me, they wouldn't fight for me. Why would they fight for someone they didn't even know, risk their lives for a mere test subject. Max glanced at me and opened her mouth to say something.

I beat her to it though, I took a step forward and announced, "Take me, let them go and take me." "Come here," Jeb motioned for me to walk forward. My feet seemed glued to the floor and my heart was beating rapidly. I swallowed my fear and began walking robotically towards him.

"No," Nudge cried. "Max you have to do something!" "It's fine," I told them, though I knew my voice was shaking. "No, it's not." I was shocked to find that Fang had said it. "Just go, go before one of you get's hurt," I told them. I couldn't be the cause of one of them being harmed, I may have been breaking, but that would shatter me. The people I had just met, who had tried to help me, regardless if they had known me or not. That would truly break me.

I was ten feet away from Jeb when I saw something fly through the air, the light making it look like a flash. It grazed Jeb's eyebrow and blood began to leak out of the wound and down his face. It had been glass, a shard of glass from the window. Max had thrown it.

Jeb's voice was calm and unwavering as he said to the erasers, "Get them." He looked over me once more and added, "All of them."


	2. Chapter 2: Attacks and Acceptance

**Here's the chapter I promised. I know it's been a while but I hope a lot of you guys are still with me because I plan to update much more frequently. XOXO- sky2585**

Erasers began to swarm us, claws at the ready and teeth bared. I looked back at the group, prepared to see them ready to run. Instead, I was surprised with the sight of them all in a fighting stance, even little Angel.

I was the first to advance on an eraser that was nearing Angel. I sent a swift sidekick to it's ear. It wheeled on me and hissed. This eraser was more animalistic than human, I noticed. It swiped a claw at my face but I threw up an arm, and instead it's claws left four jagged, bleeding wounds on my forearm.

I sent another powerful blow to it's chest and it stumbled back. I took a moment to look around, all of my saviors were fighting viciously against the erasers. I was tore my gaze from them as a large fist slammed into my ribs. All the air in my lungs expelled out of me and I gasped.

It took my loss of air as an opportunity struck me again. I fell backwards and scrambled on the ground away from it, my gaze never tearing from the eraser. I gasped and panted, struggling for air. It loomed over me, a wicked grin crossing it's face. I tried to kick my feet towards it's abdomen, but my meager attempt did nothing but make it chuckle.

I had gone down so quickly, despite all of the training I believed I'd had. It raised a clawed hand, ready to gut me with the razor sharp nails. I was dead, I was going to die.

I flailed, trying to land numerous blows, all of them in vain because they did nothing to the eraser. That was when I saw a flash of darkness and it was sent backwards, slamming into a wall, leaving an eraser sized dent. It let out a sound of pain as it crumbled to the ground. It hadn't been just a flash of darkness, it had been Fang.

After making sure the eraser was definitely not going to get up again, let alone advance on us again, Fang walked over to me, and grasped my arm and pulled me to my feet. I hissed with pain and his hand came away bloody, he had grabbed my injured arm. His eyes widened, "You okay?" "I'm fine," I replied, glancing around. All of the erasers were on the ground, injured, knocked out, and some dead.

"You say that a lot," he remarked. "I wouldn't say if if I didn't mean it, I'm fine." "Whatever you say," the look he gave me was infuriating. Like I was an idiot in denial. He had barely known me for an hour, who was he to say he knew when I was fine and when I wasn't. "I'm fine," I repeated through clenched teeth, losing my temper.

Max glanced at us and padded over, "We can do this later, let's go." I turned to see that Angel, her brother, the blind boy, and Nudge flapping their wings, hovering outside the window. I began to walk towards the window, so close to getting out.

"Don't you dare, Skylar," Jeb warned from behind me. "Or what? You're going to lock me up in a crate again, stab me with some more needles, force some more drugs in me?" I retorted. "You should be grateful to me!" Jeb exclaimed. Max, Fang, and the rest of them, watched and listened to our exchange intently.

"For what? Turning me into a lab rat!?" I shouted. "For taking you away from those people that you called family, oh, you know. The one's that sold you to me because the money offer was just too good to pass up? The ones who loved money more than their own daughter?" Jeb was going in for the kill, bringing out every bit of information that would hurt me.

My eyes began to water and I blinked back all of the tears before saying, "Possibly, but they're not the ones who gave me wings, they're not the ones who genetically altered my DNA while I wasn't under anesthesia, while I felt every minute of torture, ever incision and needle. They're not the ones who destroyed me. That was you." With those words, I turned to the flock of winged children, children like me. Max nodded her head to go.

I bolted into the night, my wings carrying me faster than I ever knew I could go. If I had waited up, if I had listened behind me back to where the group trailed me, I would've heard the words, "Damn, she's fast."

After flying for a few minutes, going over everything that had happened in my head, I began to calm down a little bit. A little bit. I slowed down and waited for the flock.

When they caught up with me I asked the question I was terrified to ask. "So what now?" They all exchanged glances, as if communicating silently what they would do next. "Well…," Max began, "why don't we head to Colorado, and once we reach the border, we'll decide from there."

I nodded, although Nudge and Angel opened their mouths to speak. "That's final," Max told them. Nudge bowed her head but Angel set her mouth in a firm line and crossed her arms.

"Follow us, I'll lead." I did as I was told and began flying after Max, the others did the same. We flew in silence, nobody said a word. I took this as an opportunity, I had never flown outside or felt the feeling of absolute freedom before. It was amazing, it was unlike anything I'd ever felt before.

The wind lifted my wings up and I was gliding. Below me, city lights sparkled like floor-bound stars. Above, real stars glittered and not a cloud was to be seen. The stars were like a little bit of home I never thought I would see again.

I remembered that as a child, I would climb out of my bedroom window, onto the roof. I would lay on my back and gaze up at the night sky, and often I would stay there until dawn bled pink, purple, blue, orange, white, and other color's I had no name for, across the horizon.

Around me, everyone glided on the wind. Max, with her tawny and white feathers, reminded me of a hawk. Angel, with her white wings and halo of curly golden locks around her head, looked like a god-sent.. Well, angel. If Angel was heavenly, then Fang was an angel from hell. He had wings black as night, with midnight blue tinting them to look like eternal darkness. He was beautiful, in a blackened way.

Gazzy's wings were similar to Max's, but reminded me more of a falcon than a hawk. Nudge's were tawny and golden-brown all over, like a lion's colorings, they complimented her beautiful dark skin nicely. Iggy's wings were white, tipped with black.

I didn't know Iggy very well, heck, I barely even knew all of them. But Iggy, I hadn't even heard speak. The other's I could pick up a whiff of their personalities from their wings, but Iggy's wings, he was like a living contradiction.

Like he was so much more than even his wings could portray. I couldn't get a read off of him, and it scared me. If the other's wings conveyed their personalities, I didn't know what mine said about me. 16 feet in all their silver glory, fading into black tips at the bottom of them.

It had been sheer luck and something else I couldn't name, that my hair had turned the exact color of my wings and eyes. Well, if you call harmful drugs luck. The only remembrance of my once raven black hair was at my roots, where the slightest bit of night coloring remained.

Max stopped flying and I was pulled out of my train of thought. Everyone turned to me, their eyes sweeping over my body and face, well everyone's except Iggy's. I felt like I was being examined. As if noticing my discomfort, Fang turned his gaze to Max.

"Do you have any special abilities?" Max asked me. I thought this over. "Yes, I can breathe underwater, I can create ice, as well as turn anything into ice, and all of my senses are heightened to the enth degree," I told her. I knew I was reciting things like an encyclopedia, but it was what I had been taught to do.

Fang tilted his head, "That was why the alarm affected you so much." I nodded. "We can breathe underwater too!" Angel exclaimed, and I smiled at her.

"About this ice thing, show me," Max demanded. "I need an object first," I explained. Nudge dashed down into a space of forest hundreds of feet below us and returned with an acorn. She placed it in my hand.

"Freeze it," Max said. At first, I closed my eyes until I felt like there was ice moving through my veins towards my left hand. It hurt at first, then the pain slowly subsided. I looked down, it was covered in frost.

I kept going, pulling power into my hand until there was no remnants of brown. The acorn now looked like an ice sculpture. The younger kid's eyes widened, and Max shared a look with Fang.

"Why were you called Test Subject #2?" This was beginning to feel like an interrogation, in a way, it was. "There was a boy before me, Dylan, he used to be my best friend. They had done all the experiments they had done on me to him, only I wasn't expected to survive, he was.

"Only he didn't, he died after they implanted his wings. Maybe the pain was too much or maybe it was something else, either way, I lived, he died. Even after that, they still called me Test Subject #2." I tried to keep my voice even and steady, I didn't want to cry in front of these people, I wouldn't cry. Dylan was gone, and no amount of tears would erase that.

"What do you mean by implanted? Your wings weren't grown?" Fang asked me. "No, they were implanted. I remember." "You remember?" "They wanted to test his and I's pain tolerance, our wings were implanted in our spines while we were awake, without any drugs. So yes, I remember, although the pain makes it all a little blurry."

"I'm sorry," all the others were looking at me with pity, but Fang wasn't. He was looking at me, not like I was broken, but like I was strong. "There's nothing to be sorry for," was my response.

We all just kind of hovered in the air, the only sounds were our wings flapping and the slight breeze. "We have a hotel room, down there," Max spoke up, gesturing to the city below. "Would you like to stay there tonight with us?"

I was unsure. I had nowhere else to go, they had saved me, they had fought for me, but I didn't know them. They could hurt me.

But like I'd said, I had nowhere else to go. I nodded my head and Max dived towards the ground. I thought she was falling for a moment but the way her wings were tucked behind her and the way she was letting out shrieks of joy and excitement told me she wasn't.

Everyone followed suit, I'll admit I was scared. I looked up from where Angel had just gone spiraling towards the ground to see Fang. He was giving me a knowing look. "Here," he said, "fly downwards, tuck in your wings, and let them out before you hit the ground."

I took a deep breath and did as he said. It was exhilarating to the point I had to remember to breathe. I'm not even sure I did that. All I knew was that I was falling, and the surface of the lake was coming closer and closer, but I wasn't terrified. Instead, I was thrilled.

I was centimeters from the water when I let out my wings and pulled upwards. When the wind jerked me upright, I was shocked but I soon found my balance. Ahead of me, the flock was flying. Behind me, if I had looked, I would have seen Fang smiling. I grinned and flew closer to the water, reaching out a hand to skim the surface.

My fingers sliced through the black water like blades, and my face was reflected in the water. I hadn't seen my reflection in years. Needless to say, I'd changed a lot since I was seven.

My once black hair was now silver, and it lay in straight but slightly unkempt strands around my head. It was long though, I didn't know why, but Jeb had never cut it besides a little trim or two before a big meeting with other scientists. I had to look presentable. So it was now a few or more centimeters past my waist.

I assumed he had never cut it do to the wishes of the nurse that had tended to me. She had been kind, unlike the rest of them. She had braided my hair, stitched up my cuts, sung me to sleep a few times, and was more of a mother than I had ever gotten in the past.

My round face had become heart shaped, and my eyes, big and silver, made me look a bit like a doll. They had always done that, ever since I was little. While they were pretty, they made me look innocent. They would have made me look young had not my cheekbones protruded out of my face sharply, but not in a good way.

I was thin, too thin from not having enough to eat. And my skin was as pale as the face of the moon from having not been in sunlight for a long time. I gazed up from my reflection, not wanting to see anymore, and continued to fly after Max and the others.

We flew high above buildings until we reached the roof of a hotel. It was actually a decently nice one, with golden lights illuminating the space around it. We then landed on the roof, my cheeks were tinted slightly pink from the wind.

"Follow us," Max told me, as she opened a door and led us down a flight of stairs until we turned left. Before me was a long hallway, doors evenly spaced apart on the walls. "This way," Max unlocked a door and glided in.

"You'll probably want some other clothes than that, probably some to sleep in too," Max observed as she glanced down at my all white apparel. White pants, a tight white tank top, and bare feet. "You can borrow some of mine, although they'll be a bit loose."

"Okay," I replied, not wanting to think of why they would be a bit loose. Not wanting to think of how my body that had slowly diminished bit by bit over the years. Max gestured me over into another connecting room.

She opened some drawers and pulled out an oversized T-shirt and shorts then some jeans and a black tank top. "You like black, right?" She asked, and the question seemed almost juvenile. After all I had endured, Max was asking me if the color of a shirt was alright.

"Yep, it's fine," I said, taking the clothes as she offered the to me. "If you want to take a shower the bathroom is over there, just remember to lock the door, the younger kids like to mess around and scare people while they're in the shower." I laughed, "Thanks… For everything."

"Don't worry about it," she brushed it off like it was nothing when it was everything. "I mean it, thank you." And with that I headed towards the bathroom to take a shower.

Author's Note: I hope you like this one, sorry if it got a tad bit boring at the end of the chapter, but the next one will be a lot more exciting. Once again, thank you for all the reviews, follows, and favorites, they make my day. ;)


	3. Chapter 3: Terrors of the Night

**Author's note: Here's another chapter, hope you guys enjoy, don't forget to review! ;) Bookrain: I know right! I've always felt conflicted when it came to Jeb.**

When I exited the bathroom, freshly cleaned, hair dampened, and clad in new clothing, I felt new. Despite my throbbing forearm and the blood soaked gauze I had wrapped around it. I had been accepted by a flock, I had met people who were like me, and they had helped me. And these facts always seemed to leave me breathless whenever I remembered them.

Gathered in the living room, the flock sat5 huddled around a TV. When I entered, all eyes turned to me, I couldn't help but feel uncomfortable. Max glanced around then began to bark orders, "Alright! Now everyone off to bed. We can discuss everything in the morning. Fang, Skylar, stay in here." By everything, I knew she meant me.

If there was one thing Max knew how to do, it was to get people to listen, and boy, was she good at it. Once everyone else had exited, Max began to speak. "We have some things to discuss, as you might guess." I nodded, unsure of what to say.

Fang stood off to the side, observing. "How do we know we can trust you?" Max asked. It was a good question, I realized, and I didn't have an answer. "I can't give you any concrete reason why you should place any faith in me, although," I spoke carefully, "why would I have any reason to betray you? You got me out of The School, away from Jeb. That, in itself, says I owe you my life, my loyalty is the least I can give."

She exchanged a look with Fang, it seemed the entire flock had ways of silent communication. "She has a point," Fang voiced aloud. "What reason would she have to turn on us?" "It could just be a trap, she could be here to infiltrate us, a spy or a weapon for the school."

Fang replied, "Infiltrate us? Max, this isn't a war, let alone espionage. The girl is freaking skin and bones! Not to mention she has nowhere else to go, you heard Jeb, her family sold her, for god's sake. What if it had been Angel, or Gazzy or even Nudge in her place?"

"But I know Angel and-." Max was interrupted by him, "If you didn't know them, but they were still the kind, loving kids they are now. What would you do?" She broke, you could see it in her eyes the minute she realized she had lost the argument.

Throughout the entire conversation, I stood, watching. There was nothing else I could do. As if remembering I was there, Fang turned towards me, then back to Max. "It's up to you," he told her.

The entire argument had lasted less than 5 minutes. But I guess you couldn't really call it an argument, it was more so Fang making a point, then leaving it for Max to ponder and decide.

"I said you could stay," started Max, "and I meant it. I'm not saying forever, not yet, but if you give me a reason not to trust you, to make me think that you shouldn't stay, you will go. I'll make sure of it."

Max knew she had been harsh, but it had to be said. Even I knew that. "Thank you," I told her, "what you've said is not unreasonable." It was a habit, probably drilled into me by Jeb, to be polite and formal to someone who was a benefactor to you.

Max seemed temporarily confused by my formality but quickly recovered from it and gave me a slight nod of acceptance. "I'm going to bed," she announced, like she hadn't just threatened to kick me out if I put a toe out of line.

She left the room, leaving Fang and I standing awkwardly by ourselves. I forcefully stared at the door which Max had exited through moments earlier, so I wouldn't have to meet the gaze that I knew was currently resting on my face.

"You wouldn't have complained even if her terms were unreasonable," he observed. I dared to meet his eyes, fully prepared for more pity, but there was none. Same as before, he wasn't looking at me with pity, but he was looking at me like I was strong.

"I don't really have many other options." "I know." We both fell into another silence, it wasn't awkward, but comfortable. He tilted his head as if thinking very hard. I inquired, "What?"

"I'm testing a theory," he told me. I was only further confused. "If your being here meant you were endangering one of the members of the flock or something was going to happen to one of them because you were here, would you leave?"

I was quick to answer, "Of course. But, would you mind me asking what your theory is?" "That you're innately selfless. Which is a good thing, but don't act on it too often." I good feel anger rising like bile in my throat, "So I'm supposed to what, put myself-." Fang interrupted me as he had done multiple times since I'd met him, "You don't prioritize survival, you put others first. The school is most likely looking for you, and they can and will try to endanger other flock members.

"I want you to live, so does Angel and Nudge, probably others as well. Do us a favor and don't leave when the people around you could get hurt. We're trying to help you, let us."

I suddenly felt sick. I really was compromising everybody's safety. The window looked extremely appealing as Fang gripped my chin and pried my gaze away from it. "We want you here."

He was close, closer to me than anybody had been in a while, and I didn't even really know him. His grip was firm but gentle, and his eyes told me he was telling the truth. Something told me those eyes didn't give away anything unless he wanted them to.

I attempted to give him a slight nod in understanding but he wouldn't allow it. "Don't nod, speak." "Okay," I said softly, averting my eyes. "Okay." He released me and took a step backwards. Like me, I noticed, he was dressed in all black.

"Then let's go to bed." We walked through the door Max had gone through earlier. Around me, everyone was situated. Max, Angel, and Nudge were crammed into one queen sized bed, Gazzy and Iggy were taking up the adjacent one.

"You two are on the floor," Max told me. I nodded as Fang sighed, "Again?" Max laughed and threw some pillows and blankets at us. I grinned as I caught them, thank god for genetically enhanced reflexes or else I wouldn't have.

The smile that was on my face slowly drained as I realized where that left me, sleeping on the floor… Next to Fang. Fan-flipping-tastic. Next to the boy I didn't even know yet it felt like I did. Confusing, perplexing, and frustrating. That was what he was.

Once we set up in between the two beds, I placed myself as far away from him as possible, from anyone really. I wasn't used to being in a room full of people while I slept. I mean sure, at The School was observed while I was asleep, but that was on monitors, while the watchers weren't in my line of vision from my crate.

The only person who had ever really been there while I sleeping was Dylan. The thought of it made me want to push it to the very far back of mind so it couldn't reach my train of thought again, so I did. I flipped onto my back, attempting to get comfortable. I finally found myself in the same position I slept every night before now.

My knees were pulled up to my chest, my arms wrapped around them. I tried to fall asleep, honestly, but somehow sleep was never able to dawn on me. No matter what I tried, leaving my eyes shut for long periods of time, practicing my breathing, clearing my mind until it was almost completely blank, I remained awake, alert, and on edge.

Everyone's breathing was steady and even around me, they were asleep. After hours of waiting for rest, I gave up and instead decided to think things over. I was apart of flock, but I was skating on thin ice too. Max had made it clear, don't give her a reason to distrust me, she won't. Give her a reason, and I'm left on the streets.

I was also out of The School, a place I never thought I'd be. Jeb was out of my life, at least hopefully he was. And I had a potential family.

Max was tough, I knew that, but she needed to be and I respected her for it. Iggy I was still unsure about, but he seemed kind and reasonable. Angel was just that, an Angel. Gazzy, although I could tell was a troublemaker at times, inherited the same compassion as Angel. Nudge was a sweet young girl as well.

But Fang, he acted like he cared, which was strange because I had just met him. His dark eyes seemed to be able to see more of me than the others, and that scared me more than it should have. I had been treated like a puzzle my entire life, just there to solve. My psychological analyses were always fascinating to my doctors.

But he looked at me different, not like he wanted to solve me, but like he wanted to know me. Trust me, there's a difference that you come to notice after a while in The School. He confused, angered, excited, and scared me all at once. Sleep finally crept it's way into my consciousness as these thoughts swirled through my brain.

It was a peaceful sleep, for a while. But as it grew deeper, nightmares began to plague it. I was back at the school and they were inserting my wings once more. The pain, again, was unbearable. It flashed through my spine into my entire body, agony flowed through my veins.

I couldn't move due to the straps that bound me to the table, my stomach against the cold metal. I clenched my teeth and tears streamed town my face. I felt like I was going to die, I was positive I would. My vision began to go blurry and black spots began to cloud it until everything went dark.

I shot up from my place on the floor. Tears dampened my face and I was shaking feverishly. I tried to even my breathing so I wouldn't wake anybody. It worked for the most part, or so I thought until I glanced to my right. There Fang sat, watching me intently. He tilted his head, a silent question. Are you okay?

I nodded and ran for the bathroom. Once I had locked the door behind me, I braced my hands on the counter and looked at my reflection. My eyes were haunted, my skin was gleaming with a cold sweat, and I was deathly pale. With trembling hands I splashed cold water onto my face, washing away my salted tears and terrified look.

I shook my head and scrubbed my face with my hand, attempting to rid myself of the memories. I breathed deeply and slowly until I no longer felt like I was perpetually lacking oxygen. I noticed a small hairbrush lying out on the counter, I ran it through my tangled hair quick and efficiently.

When I exited there Fang stood, waiting outside the door. The other's were asleep even though the sun was just barely shining over the horizon. "It's normal," he whispered. "I mean, we all got nightmares after escaping. Probably not as bad as the one you just got, but we still got them.

"Are you okay?" He asked out loud this time. I took a shuddering breath, "I'm fine." He didn't look like he believed me but he never got the chance to call me out on it, Max rose from her bed.

"Everybody up, we need to head down to breakfast before too many people get there," everyone sat up, bleary eyed and groaning but awake. We all dressed quickly, the boys heading to the other room to get dressed as well. I didn't know how she did it, but she made sure everybody did what she asked.

Max gave me a wine red tank top, black leggings, and black combat boots. It actually didn't look bad with my silver hair, although in all honesty I would've worn anything. She pondered something a bit more before pulling several sets of clothes out from a drawer, "These are now yours." "Thank you," I said, and I meant it.

Max, noticing the bloody wrap around my forearm remarked, "We'll have to clean that up when we get back, but for now put on this."

Right, a teenager with a bloody arm is awfully suspicious. I had even completely forgotten about my wound up until now. She tossed a black leather jacket to me. It fit well and was equipped with a hood. Once everybody was regrouped by the door Max announced, "Let's go get some food."


	4. Chapter 4: Fang!

**Author's Note: Thank you to everyone who reviews, favorites, and follows my story. Also, if you would like to see something happen in the future of the story or have any plot ideas for me, please tell me, they help me write more frequently and update faster. XOXO- Skai!**

After plates of all kinds of food were piled high onto our table, the flock and I began to talk. I usually enjoy talking and chatting, except when it's about me. And in that moment, I was being bombarded with questions, extremely personal ones as well.

Nudge was the first to ask, "Did you have any pets growing up." The question caught me off guard. "Yeah, a dog." "Ooh! What kind?" She squealed. I was confused as to why she would care, but I answered, "An Alaskan Malamute."

"Oh-my-gosh! I-!" Max interrupted, "Hey, Nudge, sweetie, let's let Skylar be for the morning without any yelling, squealing, or freaking out. Can we do that?" I expected Nudge to take it the wrong way and get hurt, but instead she just smiled, "Okay."

I got several stares and glances from everyone over breakfast, not including Iggy, but I continually ate in silence, answering and talking only when I was spoken to. "How old are you?" Sixteen. "Where do you come from?" California. "What's your favorite color?" Red. "How do you use your ice powers?" Ice powers, I like the sound of that, it's like having ice water in your veins and just pushing all of it towards one part of your body. "Does using it hurt?" A bit at first.

Most of the inquiries came from Nudge, Angel, and Gazzy, but a few of them came from Max. Throughout our discussing, the flock devoured more food than I even thought possible. I ate slowly, not wanting to vomit from lack of food for a long time. Eventually, I managed to eat half as much as Max, which is quite a lot.

After Max got her credit card back from the waiter, I didn't ask where she got it, we went back up to the hotel room. "Okay people, let's pack up and get going."

We had been loading whatever we needed into bags, I was given a small satchel to sling across my torso when the phone rang. "Hello," Max answered. All the color drained out of her face. She slammed the phone back into it's receiver and announced, "Jeb's here."

How could things have gone wrong so quickly?, I asked myself. He was here for me, I knew it. Fang was trying to open the window but discovered it didn't open at all. "Can we break it?" I asked. "No, we better not." "Let's take the stairs." Everyone nodded in agreement.

Max clasped Iggy's arm and lead him ahead while the rest of us followed. Fang and I were the last one's through the door of the stairwell, and as we let the door swing closed behind us, we saw Jeb and a group of Eraser's exit the elevator. "Go, go, go!" Fang whispered.

We didn't need to be told twice. We shot down the stairs in what was probably record time. We heard the slam of the door behind us. "Skylar!" I would recognize his voice anywhere.

I attempted to slow as I dared a glance back, but Fang's hand pressed into the small of my back, pushing me forward. I knew what I had to do. I shrugged Fang's hand off, "Go, all of you now!" A few of them looked like they were about to argue with me, I added, "I'll be fine, just get out." And with that they continued to run, some of them with their eyes trained on me as I turned around to face Jeb.

"Always so selfless, aren't you Skylar?" I didn't respond. "Take me, just leave them alone." "Oh, I'll gladly be taking you, but I won't leave them. I'll never stop pursuing them."

Two of the eraser's lunged toward me. I ignored the sharp pain in my forearm and blocked one of their vicious blows. I had to think fast. Think, I told myself silently, just think. My eyes darted around the stairwell until they came to rest on a window, a few feet up. "Wait! Just wait," I pleaded, putting up my hands in surrender. "I need to say one thing before you take me back to The School."

"Get on with it, Dear," Jeb's voice dripped with sarcasm. I took a deep breath and readied myself. "Go to hell," I unfurled my wings and shot up to the window. I braced myself before flying at the window with full force.

The glass shattered around me but I never stopped flying. A shard cut my cheek and a few other cuts peppered my arms but I was fine. Although, I didn't have long. A few yards ahead of me, the flock hovered in the air, their wings flapping. "Come on!" Max called. I flew to them as eraser's began to file out of the broken window into the air.

"Everybody, I need you to go full speed to the west in three seconds." I wasn't given time to react, just to fly, as we all took off, speeding away. Blood leaked from my cuts and droplets of the scarlet substance were moved across my body, courtesies of the wind. I knew that streaks of dried, flaky blood would be left all over my body.

We were flying for what felt like forever. Dropping into forests and shooting into the clouds, all with the eraser's trailing after us. After two hours of flying, the erasers lost us. Max raised her hand in signal to stop flying and called out to Iggy softly. Everybody was breathing heavily and exhaustion lingered on every inch of their bodies.

"Why," Max panted, "do they want you so bad." I took a few breaths before answering, "There were two parts to my experiment, Dylan and I were supposed to become the strongest human-avian hybrids there ever was. Both mentally and physically. Dylan's dead. I'm all they have left to salvage."

"Dylan, were you close to him?" The question came from Angel and years of memories flooded my mind. "Very," it was all I could say to not cry.

I'm sorry, an unknown voice appeared in my mind. I jerked away from everybody else and glanced around me. Everyone appeared confused.

"What was that?!" It was hard not to hear the panic that shrilled my voice. Fang looked at me darkly, "What is it?" "It was me," Angel voiced.

"What?" "I can read minds, and communicate through your mind." Oh god, I thought. "You saw my memories?!" At this point I was distraught, slightly mad, a little confused, and a bit saddened.

"I did, but I wanted to say I'm so-." "Get out of my head!" Angel didn't seem to get the message, either that or she just didn't care. "I know how you feel, I can see how you-." "Enough," Fang told her, moving closer to me and placing a hand on my shoulder. Even though I was shaking with emotion, I had to try to ignore the warm feeling that spread over me when he touched me.

"You can't tell her how she feels, nor are you in any place to look into her head." The look he gave her was enough to make her fall silent. I noticed everyone was watching us carefully.

I took a breath and calmed myself before speaking, only my hands were trembling now. "What now?" I found myself asking that far too often for it to be healthy. "Well," Max began. "I'm not sure... Let's just... keep flying." I raised my eyebrows but didn't say anything.

We did just that, flying for a couple hours then stopping momentarily to get food. Angel apologized and I forgave her on our fifth hour. When the sun began to set in the sky and I felt like I could possibly fall asleep while flying, Max announced, "Let's sleep here."

She gestured to the vast forest beneath us. We all began to drop lazily down to the ground, it was obvious we were tired.

I was gathering some berries that I knew weren't poisonous when the pain of my forearm and cuts came over me in waves. I gritted my teeth and hissed. You're fine, I told myself, you'll live.

Fang, who was sifting through some leaves nearby, heard my hiss. He turned, "Are you okay?"

'"Fine," I called back a little too quickly. He padded over to me. As his hand closed around my injury, I had to bite back a yell of pain. "We need to clean it, and probably all you're other cuts while we're at it."

"I said I'm fine," even I could hear the stubbornness in my voice. He grinned, "We're not going to do this again, are we?"

I was softened by the fact that he cared, but that didn't mean I needed help. I opened my mouth to protest as he slung his backpack off his shoulder and got out a water bottle and some gauze. If there was one thing the flock was, it was prepared.

I realized this wasn't an argument I would win and fell silent. I slowly began to peel off my bandage. Tears blurred my vision but I refused to let them fall.

Once it was all the way off, I noticed the fabric was stained with blood, it was scarlet and sticky, fresh. The bandage was just the half of it, my arm had gotten the worst of it.

Three long gashes marred my flesh and blood was oozing out of it. Fang turned his attention from the backpack to my arm. I could tell he was holding back a wince at the sight of it. "Here," he instructed, "hold out your arm." Taking my wrist in his hand and holding out my arm to it's full length, he began to trickle water over it.

The coolness of the liquid was refreshing until it got into the wound. My arm began to sting and soon felt like it was on fire. I tilted my head toward the sky and shut my eyes tightly. I could feel the water move from my arm to all of my other cuts.

The pain slowly subsided and I met Fang's gaze. His eyes actually seemed to convey the words, I'm sorry. I nodded and he began to wind a bandage around my arm until it was wrapped tightly and efficiently.

He ripped a bit of bandage off and doused it in water. He came towards me, "Your eye." I knew he was referencing the cut I had gotten just below my eye, it stood prominently on my cheekbone. I nodded again.

Slowly, like approaching a wild animal, he brought the bandage up to the cut. It stung but I tried to ignore the pain of it by looking directly at Fang.

Every so often he would meet my gaze but then flick his eyes back towards the cut and continued to work on it. It was a tense silence, but I didn't know why,

Maybe it had to do with his close proximity. He stood barely an inch away. Or maybe it was the way he stood with a strong gentleness, a practiced one. His muscles were tensed and his hand over my cut was deft.

He stepped away, "That should do it, just try not to touch any of the cuts and you should heal fairly fast." "Thank you," it seemed like the least I could have possibly said, but it was all I could think to say. "Don't worry about it," he replied, and went back to sifting through leaves, looking for something to eat.

After a dinner of unappetizing, scavenged food, I found myself settled in a tree. The rest of the flock loitered on different branches all around me. I craned my neck so I could see how high up I was.

The sight of it could have been sickening to most people, but then again, I wasn't like most people. Even if I did fall the hundreds of feet below me, I had wings, I could fly. I glanced at Max, it seemed she was doing a mental head count and a calculation of where everybody was.

"Where's Fang?" She asked. I could tell she was attempting to keep the panic from her voice. "I'm right here." There Fang was.

His back was against the trunk of the tree and was straddling a branch. Confusion crossed Max's face. "I looked, you weren't there."

Nudge spoke up, "I looked for you too. Were you behind the tree?" "I was right here!" I could tell Fang was losing his patience. "I didn't see you either man," Iggy said, how he managed to keep a straight face I didn't know. I let out a soft laugh.

Max rolled her eyes, "I'm rolling my eyes Ig." Fang shrugged, "Well, I was here the whole time." He leaned back and relaxed into the tree once more.

I kept my eyes trained on Fang, and slowly over the course of five minutes his figure began to dissipate before my eyes once more. "Fang!" Max shrieked.

She whipped her head around looking for him. "I'm here," a voice sounded from the nothingness that was once Fang. Max asked, "Behind the tree?" "Are you blind?!" Fang inquired sarcastically. "I'm right here."

Max turned to me with a grin on her face. "What's going on?" In all honesty, I hadn't the slightest idea. "Fang has discovered a new ability.

Author's Note: AHHHH! I've gotten so many kind reviews I can't believe it. Sorry if this chapter was kinda… Not the best. I wrote it while I was on a plane and had to hurry and finish it before we landed. I also didn't edit this one cause I'm going on vacation and I knew I wouldn't be able to update it or write. Here's a hint for upcoming plot points in the story, see if you can remember what happened after Fang found his special ability. I already have a plot twist for it and I'm super excited!

Disclaimer: I do not own the Dialogue that is portrayed above when Fang found his ability. All rights go rightful owners and James Patterson.


	5. Chapter 5: Did you do that?

**Author's Note: Here's another chapter, hope you enjoy! XOXO- Skai.**

That night, my sleep was plagued with nightmares once again. I woke with a shuddering gasp as the sun just barely rose above the horizon. I glanced hurriedly around to make sure I hadn't woken anyone else. Luckily, to my avail, everyone remained asleep, even Fang.

My heart pounded in my ears so loudly, I was sure the others could hear it. It thrummed and pulsed and made my head throb. I made a point of taking deep, quiet breaths until my heart no longer felt like it was beating out of my chest.

Not long after I had calmed down a little from my dreams, I found myself staring up above, watching a pageantry of color flood across the sky. I heard Max rise from her perch on a colossal branch. "Okay, everyone up," she called with far too much conviction for it to be morning.

"Up and at 'em. It's a whole new day!" I felt her gaze land on my and I pretended to sleepily rub my eyes as if I had been fast asleep. "I'm hungry," Nudge voiced. "You know what would be good? Like, one of those sausage McHeart-Attack things. The biscuit things. I want about eight of 'em."

If I was being honest, I hadn't the faintest idea what a sausage McHeart-Attack was, truthfully, I didn't even want to know. "We'll eat on the way. The Voice says we have to go somewhere, meet my mom."

The Voice? I inquired silently. "Could it be a trap?" For a seven year old, Angel was as paranoid as they came. "It could always be a trap," and with those words, Max leapt into the air.

I lifted myself from the branch I had slept on and followed after her. The air was cool against my face, if I had been awake before, I was now even more alert and awakened. The crisp clouds and pinky sky stimulated my senses. I breathed in the scent of the morning and smiled to myself. I could feel Fang angle his wings and glide towards my direction. The small breeze his wings made, made sure that I did.

"What is the Voice?" I asked. "The Voice," Fang explained. "Is a voice Max hears inside her head. It's helped us in the past, and it's almost never been wrong. We don't question it." It was a lot of faith to put in a suspicious voice but I didn't argue about it. Instead, I simply replied, "Got it."

We continued soaring after Max in comfortable silence until Fang startled me with a question. "Why aren't you sleeping?" "I did sleep," I defended. I told myself that I didn't see how it was any of his business. "Not a lot, certainly not enough."

I sighed, "You know why." He gave me a look that said he did. His dark eyes peered into me, and I didn't enjoy the feeling. It was as if he could like inside me, it made me feel revealed, observed, and… Vulnerable?

I broke eye contact and forced my eyes forward. I didn't want questions or soul searching or smoldering looks. No, all I wanted in that moment was to fly, and maybe also some breakfast. Fang loosed a disappointed breath and sped up to reach Max.

The heat that had radiated from his body through the morning air was gone. I missed it, I realized. Then I shoved the thought down before I could let it resurface. I couldn't think like that, I wouldn't, I repeated these lines to myself internally. I didn't even know him.

Ahead, Max and Fang whispered softly. I was sure the other's couldn't make out what they were saying over the wind, however, thanks to advanced hearing, I could. "Did you notice that Skylar faked waking up this morning? She had already been up, could she be hiding something?"

That comment came from Max. No, no, that's not what I wanted her to think. Fang, thankfully, was quick to jump to my defense. "That's not it, Max," he began. "She get's nightmares. She got one the first night she was here. She woke up crying and shaking."

Great, I mentally quipped, sarcasm lacing my thoughts, that's just what I wanted people to know. "And you didn't tell me," irritation coated Max's voice as she said the words. "Why did you need to know?"

"Because!" Max was exasperated now. "We're a flock, Fang. And we take care of our flock, even when they're new." The words were enough to make my heart swell and I had to bite my tongue to keep tears welling in my eyes. Probably not the best way to do so, considering I had to bite back a hiss of pain as I tasted blood.

"I know that, but she doesn't want to talk about it. Not to anyone, frankly, after having been what she's been through, neither would I." At least Fang understood that much about me, but Max was persistent. "We still have to try to help her."

"Fine," he cursed softly under his breath. "But just… Let me do it." Max cocked her head but didn't question it. A while after that, we made a quick stop to gulp down some breakfast before we continued flying.

An hour later, we reached our destination, it was a pretty close to Pittsburg. It was near a private landing strip which was shrouded by green forests and tall trees. Upon the runway sat a small jet. Max halted and the rest of us came to an abrupt stop along with her.

She focused her eyes on the plane and soon enough, a woman stepped out of the entryway of the flying vehicle. Max became slightly less tense. It was a small change, but it was enough for me to know that she knew and trusted this woman.

She pressed her wings into her spine and began to lose altitude. I had never done so before, but I followed suit. By now, I'd learned to trust my body and my wings. They seemed to know what they were doing more so than my mind.

I couldn't help but feel a pang of jealousy when the woman ran to Max and swept her up in a hug. "Max!" "Mom!" Max held her mother tightly to her. When she seemed to no longer be caught up in the euphoria of seeing the woman, Max asked, "What's going on?"

The woman gave a warm smile, "You see, My colleagues and I have come up with an unusual possibility for you guys. We wanted to see if you were interested."

Fang seemed as wary as I was, when he inquired, "Unusual how?" "Well, a sort of science trip," Max's mother began, and I could practically hear the alarm bells in my brain blaring their flashing red lights and sirens. "A science trip where you would work with scientists in a pretty remote place. We think it would be kind of fun for you guys, plus you would be useful to the scientists, plus this place is so remote that we think you'd be safer than usual while you're there."

"Huh," Max seemed to be analyzing this new information. Her mother raked her eyes over all the children, but her gaze landed on me. "Who is this?" "Mom, this is Skylar. Skylar, this is my mom, Dr. Martinez." Dr. Martinez smiled at me, "Is she like you guys?"

I let my wings answer for themselves and unfurled my sixteen foot wingspan. Her jaw dropped a little but she quickly recovered and turned to Max. "When did she join you?" I sensed her mother was ready to analyze whatever Max said next. "Two days ago." "Can she be trusted?" Max looked me over, "Yes. I believe so." Since when did Max become formal? I asked myself.

Dr. Martinez seemed to take a little more kindly to me after that. "How did you get a hairstylist to match your hair to your wings without seeing them? Or did you dye it yourself?" I gave her a soft grin and replied, "I didn't dye it, drugs and medications made it turn silver." Her face fell, "Oh, I'm so-." "Really it's fine." I hated having people tip-toe around me, around the questions they wanted to ask. I disliked it almost as much as I disliked the sympathy which radiated from her.

Fang, in an attempt to change the topic, asked, "Where is this remote place?" I gave him a grateful look, he simply dipped his head in acknowledgement. Dr. Martinez smiled. "I'd like to keep that a secret until you're almost there. To help you keep an open mind. And now I'd like you to meet one of the scientists."

She gestured to a woman behind her, who was a little shorter than Max and I, with hungry eyes. Eager to learn and see more about us. I shifted under the weight of her gaze. She was kind of pretty, I suppose, with a blonde braid down her back and a small figure. She stepped forward and held out her hand to Max. "I'm Dr. Bridget Dwyer," she introduced herself.

"What's this science field trip about?" Max voiced the question we were all thinking. "I'll explain once we're on board." I, for one, did not, whatsoever, like this idea. Nicely, Max spoke again, "How about you explain before we get on board."

She paused before clarifying, "Or we could all split now." Bridget panicked for a brief moment before telling, "Dr. Martinez has recommended you for a… Rescue mission." "Do tell." Snarkiness was obviously a trait of Max's when she wanted it to be. "What- or who- are we rescuing?" "The world?"

I was shocked by this at first but Max quickly agreed to anything and everything. And I thought I was selfless, this girl was ready to save the world at a moment's notice. We were soon ushered onto the plane, Dr. Martinez stayed behind.

Inside, everything was a bit small, yet it remained lavish and plush. Fang finished scoping out the interior of the plane and nodded. It was his signal for everything being all clear.

"Please, sit down and be comfortable. Fasten your seat belts, just for takeoff. As soon as we're in the air, you can have refreshments." Bridget Dwyer would have made a hell of a flight attendant, I noted while internally chuckling. I buckled my seatbelt and tightened it quite a bit, the last person to sit here had apparently been much larger than me.

"So where are we going?" Max said curiously. "Please tell me someplace warm, I've had enough cold this winter to last a lifetime." Dr. Dwyer cast her eyes to the ground. "South America." "Where in South America?" "Argentina."

"Rainforest?" Max guessed. "No, we'll be taking a boat from there." Fang perked up. "A boat? To where?" Bridget dodged the question, "How about something to eat?" She stood from her seat and headed to the back of the plane.

The plane ride was long and agonizing. Energy pulsed through my veins and I was itching to release it. Cold began to sweep over me. Oh crap, I thought. When I got too antsy or wasn't moving around enough, my powers began to get a little out of control. I clenched my fists at my sides. Fang looked towards me and asked me a silent question, Are you okay?

For once, I shook my head no. I didn't want to hurt anyone, I really didn't. "How much longer till we land?" He called up to the pilot. "Not even five minutes," the pilot replied. Fang glanced at me again, I knew he didn't know what was wrong but he could tell it was important. Can you make it that long?

I swallowed and nodded. I could, and I would, I was determined. When the jet touched down on the runway and came to a halt, Gazzy bursted out of the plane's emergency exit. The inflatable ramp came down and alarms began to ring. He flew into the open air. "Gazzy!" Max yelled. "What if there are people out here," she continued as she boarded of the plane. "The area is entirely private," Bridget supplied. "You all are fine."

With that, I took off soaring into the nearby clearing of trees. I could sense Fang following me. I hovered in mid-air and he stopped about thirty feet away. Finally, I pushed all the frigidness in my veins towards my hands and I frosted an entire tree. I panted and fluttered to the ground. I landed on my knees and remained there. "Does that happen often?" Was all Fang had to say.

"Only when I get too restless, it has to build up over hours," I told him. "I thought you said it hurt," he was referring to how quickly and easily I had turned the tree into a snow-man/plant. "It does, but it feels better when it's over." Overhead, I heard Max fly toward us. Taking in the sight of the tree she exclaimed, "Wow, um, did you do this?"

I nodded, casting my head down to the ground. She probably thought I was dangerous. "Amazing," she sounded slightly awe struck. Breaking out of her trance, she turned to us. "Dwyer says it's time to go."

Another Author's Note: I've noticed it does take me a decent amount of time to update my story. But, this is because I try to write good length and quality chapters that have never been under 2,000 words. So I have to ask, would you guys prefer it if I updated with only 1,000-1,500 word chapters more frequently or 2,000 word chapters but slightly less frequently. Please let me know, thanks. XOXO-Skai.

Disclaimer: I used many direct quotes, plot points and dialogues from "The Final Warning,"I do not own any of it. All rights go to rightful owners and this is something that will continue on for the remainder of this fanfiction.


	6. Chapter 6: We Had Company

**Author's Note: So I didn't realize I had been spelling Dr. Dwyer's name incorrectly until this chapter, it is actual Bridgid. My apologies. I know the stories gotten a little boring so here's an exciting chapter for you guys. Happy reading! XOXO- Skai.**

When asked to get into a car with Bridgid, we all adamantly refused. After being cooped up in a plane that long, there was no way we were being subjected to that again. Instead, the flock opted to fly over head the car, attempting to stay out of the view of traffic.

It wasn't very difficult actually, since there was hardly any any traffic along the twisty and winding road Dr. Dwyer's Jeep was driving along. The wind blew through my hair and I smiled against the cold breeze. My wings had been aching to be stretched and used again.

Of course, I wasn't able to fly full speed due to the car below us. Since it was South America, I had assumed Argentina to be hot and humid. I had assumed wrong. It was cold, dark, and windy where we were at.

I felt myself shudder as any icy gust of wind blasted me in the face. Fang noticed this and asked, "What was that?!" He was laughing softly. I smiled and explained, "It happens when I get cold." This just made him laugh harder, "Wouldn't you be immune to the cold with all your ice powers and stuff?!" His body racked with laughter at that point.

"You would think," somehow, I found myself giggling with him. Angel and Iggy, both of whom had heard our conversation, erupted with howling laughter. "Hey, Chuckles and Giggles," Max called from ahead. This only made us laugh harder. I laughed until I was clutching my stomach and tears streamed down my face. Max continued, although there was a broad grin on her face, "We're here."

I knew it wasn't hilarious, nor did it warrant our dramatic and comedic reactions, but it had felt good to laugh. I figured it had felt as nice to me as it had to Fang, Angel and Iggy. Once everyone had quieted down, I noticed the ocean in front of us. Settled nearby a small dock, was a boat.

Unlike our other method of transportation, (the plane,) this was neither fancy nor new. It had an old, chipped layer of paint coating it's metal frame. It was long, reaching to about 160 feet, and I could just barely make out the lettering on the side of it. The Wendy K. I inferred that that was the boat's name.

Below us, Max was speaking with Bridgid until a man walked onto the deck and waved. "Hey, Michael," Bridgid called. "Yo, Bridgid." We flew down and landed upon the dock. Waves teetered the fragile wooden structure and I kept my wings out in case I needed to fly if it collapsed.

Bridgid padded over to a rusty metal ladder that was nailed into the side of the boat and crawled upwards. I was surprised it didn't groan and snap under the pressure. Not wanting to test the stability of said ladder, I simply flew and dropped my feet upon the deck of the ship. Max took one look at the ladder and the rest of flock joined me.

"Oh my god," Michael's eyes were wide. "It's true." "Well, it's not just some elaborate hoax," Bridgid replied, although I know she had been hiding the same reaction when she first set eyes upon us. Bridgid went around introducing everyone.

After introductions Max decided to ask the question we were all thinking. "We still don't know why we're here," she deadpanned. "Bridgid didn't tell you," A man by the nickname of Dr. Papa joined us on the deck. "You're here to help us gather data for a research project — about global warming and its effects on Antarctica, among other places. You're here to help us save the world."

While Max had some slight protests about the cold in Antarctica, the saving the world part of the deal had her hooked. We talked with Dr. Papa until a beautiful white Alaskan malamute trotted up beside him.

She ran a trained eye over all of us, sizing everyone up like a guard dog. She stopped moving when she laid her eyes on me. No, I thought to myself, it couldn't be her. As if breaking out of a trance, the dog created a warpath for me. Sprinting swiftly to where I was standing.

She jumped and put her paws on my shoulders and I let out a laugh of delight. She licked my face as I knelt down to reach her, turning my head so she would stop. She yipped and whined as I pet her frost colored fur softly.

"Kaya," I whispered. It had to be her, I could feel it in the back of my mind, where the memories of my childhood dog resided. "Huh," Dr. Papa said. "This is Akila, although, she's not usually this friendly."

I smiled when Akila moved to take a seat on my lap. Her sky blue eyes peered into my silver ones with recognition. "Where," I managed to speak. "Where did you get her?"

"A couple in California sold her to us," he replied, looking confused. "They said they had lost their child, and didn't want to keep the dog of hers.' "Isn't that where you said you once lived?" Nudge asked, I nodded. I looked up at Dr. Papa and questioned, "Can I try something with her?"

He seemed a bit wary at first but agreed. "Call her over to you," I ordered. "Akila, come." The dog reluctantly rose from her perch on my legs and walked over to him and sat at his feet, her eyes trained on me.

"Kaya," I spoke loudly and clearly. The dog perked up and stood. "Paw," I directed. Surely, the dog lowered herself onto her haunches and pawed and nuzzled a the deck. "Kaya," I could hear my voice break slightly. "Come."

The dog ran at me once more, this time knocking me gently to the ground. Tears of happiness formed in my eyes and I smiled and laughed as I gripped Kaya to my chest. I pushed myself and the dog upwards. Dr. Papa had his mouth in an O shape and the rest of the flock had grins on their faces.

"It seems as if you two have already met," said the doctor, and his eyes crinkled with sincerity at the sight of us. "It seems we have." Bridgid cleared her throat from beside us. Everyone's eyes focused on her.

Kaya let out a low growl and Bridgid jumped back a bit. "Would you guys like to be shown your rooms?" "Sure," answered Max, and gestured for us to follow her, I reluctantly stood, and Bridgid led us down a narrow hallway. Kaya faithfully trotted after us.

I couldn't stop myself from glancing down at her every so often. I couldn't believe that this was Kaya, the dog I had received from my mother four months before they had sold me to The School. My gosh, I'd loved this dog with all of my five year old heart. I knew Kaya had to be at least nine or ten by now, we had shared the same birthday.

It was a month before I had been dragged out of my house kicking and screaming while Kaya was locked in the backyard, when Kaya had turned one and I had turned six. Bridgid opened a door.

Inside, was many bunks pushed against the walls. Enough bunks for seven bird kids and maybe a bit more. "This room will be yours for the trip," She explained. Max nodded.

Later on, after the younger kids had finished bouncing around on the beds and exclaiming how amazing everything was, Fang announced, "Skylar, can I talk to you outside?" I nodded, "Okay." I knew what he wanted to talk about, the very thing he had promised Max to discuss with me about. My nightmares.

Once outside in the hallway, Fang checked to see if we were alone and nobody could hear us. He then leaned against a wall and his eyes moved towards mine. "So," he began. "Kaya's your dog." He was blatantly going to dodge the point of this conversation for a while, I deduced.

"Was," I said it more as a reminder to myself than anything else. "Is," he corrected. He continued, "Why did you name her Kaya?" A sad smile creeped it's way across my face at the memory of it.

"It meant stay and don't go in some kind of Eskimo language," I told him. "Because I never wanted her to leave. I knew it was a likely possibility my parent's would get sick of her then sell her. I didn't want that to happen, so, my five year old self figured that if I could name her to stay, she would."

He eventually voiced, "I'm sorry." "I'm fine," I stated, it was becoming a habit. He said nothing for a long while. "Do you mind me asking what your nightmares are about?" He questioned after minutes in silence.

I knew I would have to tell him eventually, so I didn't bother hiding it. "I dream of when they implanted my wings, and I was still awake." He didn't bother to hide the grimace that shocked his face. "You remember the pain of it?"

The answer seemed so painfully obvious it almost made me want to morbidly laugh. "Of course I do." He seemed heartened by my response. He almost seemed like he didn't want to pry anymore, put me through anymore than he had to, but he continued. "When did you start dreaming of it?"

"Ever since I left the school," I tried to stand straighter as I spoke, to prove that I was stronger than what the dreams said about me. "But, hey," I reminded. "We all have our stories."I could tell it pained him to know that what I'd said was true, although he hid it well. "That doesn't make anyone's stories more or less painful," he pointed out. "I guess you're right." He grinned, it seemed to lighten the conversation, "Of course, I'm always right." I chuckled slightly at this.

I liked his smile, it was a devastatingly beautiful crooked smile that looked kind of like a smirk. He had a nice mouth, I also noticed. I tried to push the thought away but it wasn't working. He was looking at my mouth as well.

Before I knew what either of us were doing, Fang's mouth was on mine. His touch was electrifying and the feeling pulsed through my body. At first, I had almost just stood there, although it seemed I subconsciously knew what to do.

My arms snaked around his neck and our mouths moved together in perfect rhythm. His fingers ran down my sides and he pulled me closer to him. It seemed as if all thoughts vanished from my brain. All I could think was Fang.

Of his lips on mine, the way his hands felt, firmly placed on my hips, the heat that came from those hands. It was intoxicating, he was intoxicating. He angled his head further as a loud bang sounded outside.

We pulled apart, mouths swollen, faces flushed, and breathing heavily. I bit my lip. Fang looked as if about to say something but Max, and the rest of the flock came rushing into the hallway. Fang held a finger to his lips and gestured to the ceiling, where the metal was dented from the outside. We had company.

Author's Note: Hi guys! I had so much fun writing this chapter and I hope you all enjoyed it as well. I know the past few chapters haven't been really interesting or action packed but it's all leading up to future chapters as well as the next one. Please review, favorite, and follow. I'll have the next chapter posed by the end of the week. XOXO- Skai.


	7. Chapter 7: Falling Ash

**Author's note: Hi! So, as promised, here's another chapter. Please review, follow, and favorite. I love hearing from you guys, it makes my day and always encourages me to keep writing.**

The air chilled my face as the Flock and I burst out onto the deck. My hair whipped around my face as I craned my neck, looking for whatever, or whomever had dented the roof. I could feel my muscles tense and the cold set me on edge.

I came to a realization as a heavy force dropped from the sky and knocked the oxygen out of my lungs. I had been looking everywhere but up.

I could feel warm skin and sharp nails claw into my skin as I grappled to escape my attacker. My vision was blurred by silver. But unfamiliar color's also meshed with my metallic hair, black and scarlet.

A growl erupted from my attacker as they were pulled from my shoulders. I scrambled to my feet. Fang had thrown the girl off me and launched her backwards, into the air.

Large wings unfurled on her spine and in that moment, she looked like hell. With short, choppy black and red hair, matching wings, and a malicious grin. She reflected everything I knew to be evil.

I grit my teeth and assessed her. She was average height, my height, with a lean and muscular frame. She angled her wings at me as she flew to strike once more. This time, however I was prepared for her.

I shielded my face and stomach from her blows with my forearms. Whenever she would land I punch, I would land an equally effective kick. When she would feign to the left to fool me, I would feign to the right until we were circling each other like awaiting animals.

Our limbs were mere blurs in my vision and I relied on instinct to know what to do. We were moving fast and gracefully. Our techniques matched each other's in opposite forms. While she wasn't mobile, I excelled in deft movements and escapes. She packed strength and power into her blows, whereas I had quick and only slightly effective hits that had to be landed numerous times for it to take effect.

I was ice, and she was fire. And I sure as hell wasn't going to let her burn me. I decided this when flames erupted from her palms and leapt towards my body. I dodged the fire and returned the attempt with an icy blow that, much to my opponent's dismay, hit her arm.

She let out a feral hiss as the skin turned a sickly blue then faded back into it's tan coloring. I couldn't help but feel a bit of victory in that moment, it was short lived. If she had been angry before then, now she was absolutely livid.

Her eyes grew wild and determination set in. She lunged, not for my face or abdomen this time, but for my neck. I hadn't been expecting it and was too slow to deflect her hands as they closed around my throat.

It was the second most painful experience of my life, the feeling of her strong fingers around my throat. It cut off my oxygen and practically crushed my esophagus. I wanted to breathe, gag, and die in that moment. I clawed and struggled to pry her fingers from my neck, but my vision was clouded by black spots and I could feel my body laboring not to go limp.

Ice. I needed my ice. Every time I tried to conjure the cold in my body to my hands, I could feel her heat smothering it. This was it, this was how I was going to die. I could feel the life, no, the will to live, going out of me.

The creeping tendrils of darkness were looking too inviting and the face above mine, contorting with animalistic rage, looked less than welcoming. The other's were frozen to their places, even little Angel, whose look of sheer determination and strength to fight whatever was keeping her there broke a small part of me.

She, the girl with her hands clamped around my neck, was doing this I realized. She had them willed them to stay there. After a moment, I realized she wasn't willing them to when I saw Max attempt to move, then her piercing scream reached my ears.

The hand she had waved in the air around her was singed with heat. "Max!" Iggy moved to rush to her aid but he soon released his own cry of pain. The air around them was heated to a scorching degree.

My eyes lastly landed on Fang, although his figure was blurry and distorted in my eyes. He was preparing for something. He then clenched his jaw and balled his fists before launching into the air.

Unlike the other's, he let out no sound of agony, instead, he darted swiftly towards my attacker. Once his frame rammed into hers, the air was no longer sweltering. He had her pinned to the ground and hovering over her.

I was left gasping for breath. My lungs burned and it felt as if they were on fire. It was painful, agonizing and yet it felt amazing. Every breath was labored but the air tasted so sweet as my lungs swelled with oxygen.

My vision cleared and I was presented with the image of Fang attempting to kill the girl beneath him. His knees crashed into her ribs and his hands were clenched around her neck. Bruises were already forming from where his fists had pummeled her previously. "Stop," I rasped, attempting to sit up. "Stop." A bit louder this time.

"Fang," my voice had regained strength substantially. "Don't kill her." With much reluctance he released her. Almost throwing himself off her, if only as to keep himself from murdering her. "What?!" His voice was incredulous and furious through his panting.

"I said, don't kill her." I struggled to my feet, leaning on the railing for support. "Like she would have done the same for you!" He shouted. I couldn't help but flinch and look away. I could tell he was still rattling from what had happened prior. "I'm sorry," his words were softer and almost inaudible as he said it.

"Don't kill her. I know she would have killed me, I know that," I couldn't help but hear how my voice shook. "But we can't just kill people, even if she hurt us."

Fang opened his mouth to protest but I continued. "What's there to stop us from killing people if we decide that it's okay, if only in specific circumstances. We're not killers, and we don't need to become them. It's never okay, it's never fine. No matter who," I said, looking at the girl, "they are, or what they did."

The girl was gasping for breath, same as I had done moments before. She attempted to rise but Max dove towards the ground and the girl and pinned her once again. "Also," I added, "we all should have some questions for her."

Everyone agreed as Max spoke through gritted teeth, "For starters, what's your name?" The girl was gulping down air is if it were water when she answered, "Ash." "Who sent you here?"

"The school," a predatory smile spread over Ash's face as she spoke. "Why did they send you?" Ash replied as if it were the most apparent and obvious answer she'd ever had to give, "To kill her."

She nodded her head towards me and I watched as Fang's entire body tensed. "When were you given the orders?" His voice was calm, all remainder of his previous rapacious instincts seemingly gone. Seemingly.

"Yesterday. Although," Ash mused, "The School has always been waiting to kill Skylar. You see, she was never quite obedient... Enough. Too much spirit for her own good. Jeb knew she would rebel eventually, that's why he had me created. Her perfect opposite, her perfect rival, her perfect assassin."

Fang's knuckles turned white with the strain of keeping them at his sides. I knew I shouldn't be surprised The School had always been at the ready to kill me, but I was. It hurt, whether I hated them or not, to know that the people I had grown up around were willing to have me killed at a moment's notice.

I felt the need to lie down, to be sick and to punch someone. I opted for none of the above. With my spine pressed against the railing, I slid down to the ground and pulled my knees to my chest. I finally brought my gaze to Ash. With glaring eyes, I realized I wanted to prove Jeb right for once.

If he thought I'd had spirit, even when internally I had felt like I was breaking, I would show him spirit. I would be stronger than he ever thought I could be and I would be unbreakable.

I rose to my feet. I noticed Fang was watching me closely from off to the side. Max eased off of Ash and allowed her stand, Max's hands still gripped her wrists together behind her back. "You look different in person," Ash remarked, as if this entire conversation was merely a casual greeting. "As opposed to photos in files on how to kill me?" My voice as icy as the cold I knew that was rushing in my veins. I could feel the railing beneath my hands being coated in a layer of frost. "You're alive because I said so," I spat.

"You're alive because I'm not a killer, and neither is anyone here except you. I don't care if that is what you're trained to do, I don't care if you're following orders. Kill me, torture me, and burn me, but don't you ever hurt any of these people. I've had enough-" I was cut off by a loud thud as Ash's body plummeted to the deck. She had passed out.

I muffled squeak came from Dr. Dwyer. "What do we do-?" I gave Ash one last glance, her body twisted awkwardly on the floor. "We help her. Now move!" I barked the orders as if I was Max.

And to my avail, everyone rushed to work. I was no Max, and I was no leader, but in that moment, I knew that I wasn't a killer or somebody who harmed others. Instead, I was a selfless, healing, awesome and caring winged teenager. And maybe that was who I truly was. Not an experiment and not an anomaly.

 **Author's note: I hope you enjoyed that chapter, even if it was a bit shorter than the other's I've done. What do you think of Ash? Do you like Fang and Skylar together? Please tell me in a review because I'd love to hear from you. Thanks. XOXO- Skai.**

 **Disclaimer: Ash was an OC idea created and suggested to me by ChachieB and I absolutely loved the idea of her. Thank you so much for the amazing OC, ChachieB, and I hope you continue and enjoy reading Silver Wings!**


	8. Chapter 8: Fears and Faces

Bridget rushed first to Ash's side and felt for her pulse. "She's alive," she announced. She continued to evaluate the girl, checking for broken bones and other injuries. After a minute or two, Bridget had reached a conclusion.

"Her ribs are cracked, and I believe she might have some internal bleeding, hence why she collapsed," she continued. "Luckily, due to some recent advances in medicine, we have pills she can to take to help stop the internal bleeding, preventing a loss and lack of red blood cells and organ failure."

"What about her ribs?" "We can try to reposition her ribs then wrap them up. It seems like the best option," Dr. Dwyer replied. "But we'll have to reposition her ribs first though, if they're what caused the bleeding then we have to position them so they're no longer penetrating and circulatory veins and stuff. We need to fix the root of the problem before-," Bridgid interrupted me.

"Yes, but-." I finished for her, "If we do that though there's a possibility of causing more damage and bleeding. She would need to take the pills before repositioning but we would have to finish fixing her ribs before the medication got into her system." Let's just say growing up in a lab/school, you learn a lot.

"That would give us seven minutes tops to reposition them," she noted. "Then we just have to work fast." The others were staring at us incredulously. I rolled my eyes. "Okay, Bridgid go get the pills. Where is the infirmary?" "Third door on the left."

"Got it, Fang, help me move Ash to the infirmary," I barked as Bridgid jogged to get the medication. Ash was heavier than expected, although mainly Fang carried her. She was average height with practically hollow, avian bones. However, she had a lot of lean and lanky muscle, plus the added weight of wings too.

We placed her onto a cot. Dr. Dwyer arrived, "Ready?" Max turned to the younger kids in the room, "Iggy, will you get everyone else out of here? They really don't need to see any of this." "Sure," Iggy nodded and escorted the rest of the Flock out of the room. Any protests from Angel, Nudge, or Gazzy were silenced by a withering glare from Max.

"Okay, go," I positioned myself over Ash's torso, Fang and Max watching from the side. Bridgid popped the pills into Ash's mouth and I began to gently position her ribs. I was glad Ash was still unconscious, knowing she would probably scream or try to kill me again from the pain of it. Once they were at the angle they were supposed to be I declared, "We need gauze wraps or something. Max plucked a roll of gauze off a nearby cart and tossed it to me.

"Fang, lift up Ash's torso, Dwyer, help me." Once Ash's torso was hovering in the air, Bridgid and I began to pass the roll back and forth, wrapping it deftly around her rib cage. "Done," Dr. Dwyer let out a sigh of relief. "She should be okay, she'll probably wake up in a couple of hours."

"Thanks," I nodded in acknowledgement to everyone. "You're awfully good at that," Bridgid nicely commented. "You should do something with it someday." I shrugged, "It's not like I can be a doctor." I raised my wings to prove my point.

"True," Max noted. I looked to Fang to see what his response was, "Possibly." Vague as ever, I thought with an internal grin. But it saddened me a. It that I really couldn't ever pursue anything like a career, besides being in a flying freak show. Which sounded less than appealing.

We all stood there for a while, not knowing what to do. "So Ash was sent here to kill you," Max addressed the elephant in the room with a topic change. I nodded, "Apparently."

"I thought you said the School needed you, you were the last remaining test subject of your experiment," her voice was questioning. "I thought so too, but it seems as if they no longer need me."

"But, why?" Asked Fang. I scoffed, "Like I should know. I'm about as clueless as you are." "They'll probably send more people, eraser's maybe, to kill you since... Ash didn't," my stomach lurched at Max's words. "I should leave," I could hear the panic in my own voice.

"No," Fang's voice was firm. "But what about the kids? And the rest of-?" "You're not going." I suddenly felt sick with the mental image of Angel being grasped by an Eraser's claws, her innocent blue eyes filled with terror. Not only that but the Flock, all shaking their heads at me, asking me to leave. I was too dangerous.

"I have to." Fang's hand closed around my arm, "We'll just be a minute," he said, before dragging me out into the hallway. I couldn't help the way my skin tingled underneath his warm fingers.

"Stop it," Fang told me. "What?" I asked, not sure whether or not he meant arguing or trying to go. "Stop trying to leave, for fear of being left."

"I'm not afraid of-," I was cut off by Fang. "You are," he said. "And I can tell, in the way you tip-toe around us. In the way you do everything in your power to prevent yourself from doing something wrong, it shows. You're scared of being left."

"Shut up," I retorted. "Just shut up." "Why? Because I'm telling you the truth, because you don't want to admit anyone noticed-," I cut him off. "Shut up, Okay? Stop talking like you know everything about me, like you know me. You don't." My voice was breaking, his eyes softened. He looked pained to say the words, but it seemed as if felt like he had to.

"I can't figure out why though. It's a fear that should've been gone the moment we said you could stay with the flock, I mean, of course I can assume and make guesses, but I-," I don't know how many times I had interrupted him now, but I was mad.

"Why?! You want to know why?" I yelled. "Because everyone leaves me, no one wants me! My own parents even sold me because they didn't want me, they didn't love me. So yes, I am afraid, but I'm not some puzzle for you to solve. I'm not here for your amusement then to be tossed aside like nothing more than a solved mystery." I was positive Max and Bridgid could hear me, although I couldn't bring myself to care

"You're not a puzzle," he told me, meeting my gaze. I was trembling with anger and emotion. "You're not. And we're not going to leave you. I won't leave you." I tried not to focus on the last bit, tried to ignore the way my heart swelled with the words. "But you would want to... eventually," I whispered, looking down at the ground. "Why in the world would you think that?" Fang asked, softer this time.

"Like I said, everybody leaves. There must be something wrong with me, I must have some kind of fatal flaw that makes everybody go." He grimaced at my words. "You're fine, you're perfect," he breathed. Tears filled my eyes at the words. "There's nothing wrong with you, not a thing. You're parents were idiots, cruel, stupid idiots. They didn't know what they had. They didn't know who they had."

I stared up at him. I was confused, now more so than ever. All my life, I had understood people's motives. My parents, theirs was money and opportunity to get rid of me. Jeb's and the scientist's, that was for the advancement of science and whatever else they like to justify it with. But as I looked at Fang, I didn't know why he even cared about me.

I mean, he had kissed me, he gave me fluttering sensations in my stomach, and almost killed a girl protecting me. But why would he do those things? I was just as confused with the layers of him as he was with me.

Those were the thoughts that swirled my head as I ran outside, I needed to get away. I ran and ran until night sky was above me and I flew. I bolted into the sky, straight towards the stars.

I was free, I reminded myself, I wasn't in a cage or lab anymore. I was free, and that was all that mattered. I focused on that as I kept my eyes trained on the boat below me, knowing I had to go back down eventually.

But for that moment, I let the wind tousle my hair and tint my cheeks with the cold. All of it a reminder that I had wings, I could fly away. I could save myself. I wasn't a damsel that was locked up in a tower with nowhere to go. I was a winged girl that could jump out any window in a tower and plummet towards the ground, only to be lifted by the wings that were surgically implanted in my spine before I landed.

I could save myself. I could learn and live and love, and if I did that alongside the flock, that was okay. But I would never forget that I could always rely on myself.

After a few hours of trailing the slow moving boat from the sky, I landed quietly on the deck. Fang was leaning against a wall, hands in his pockets and a calm expression on his face. He stood up straighter when he saw me and began, "I'm sorry."

"It's fine," I responded, meeting his gaze. He looked as if he had been there the entire time I was flying. I smiled and he returned it with a grin. Yes, everything was fine as the sun began to rise, it's tendrils of light snaking onto the deck.

 **Author's Note: Hi guys! I hope you enjoyed that chapter, I'll try to have the next one up before the end of the week. Remember to review, favorite, and follow. Also, I've been trying to think of a ship name for Fang and Skylar but can't really come up with one. If you have an idea for one I would love to hear it. XOXO- Skai.**


	9. Chapter 9: Trackers and Troubles

As Fang and I entered the infirmary all heads turned to us, including Ash's. She stiffened as her eyes met with Fang's. I forced my face into neutrality before speaking, "Hello."

"Hi," Ash replied. I gave her a once over, taking in her bandaged abdomen and freshly scabbed cuts, "So you're awake." She snorted, ""Obviously." From the corners of my eyes I saw Fang clench his jaw, as if to keep from retorting.

"I'm not one for small talk," I said, sitting myself in one of the chairs nearby her cot. "Glad we have something in common," Ash commented, sarcasm dripping from her words. I narrowed my eyes, "Let's get to the point, how did the School find me?"

"And why should I tell you?" I held back a shudder at the malice in her eyes. "Because, we helped you. You wouldn't likely be alive without us, and if that's not enough then we can ask why the School didn't send in reinforcements to get you back.

"You were created to do one mission, kill me. You failed. Why would they want you back. You proved useless to them, they don't need you. They wouldn't waste the resources to bring you back. If they were going to, they would have done it already."

"You don't know that," Ash replied, although the fire in her eyes was dulling. She knew I was right. "As to why you should tell us, for starters we're the only people who bothered to save you. And we're the only ones who will, and that statement will stay true as long as you help us in return."

Max's brows rose but she didn't disagree. Ash seemed to contemplate my words before speaking, "You have a tracker, in your arm." "I what?!" My voice went shrill with shock and a little bit of terror. "You heard me, you have a GPS tracker in your arm. It's impossible to remove, unless it's done by a trained medical professional. Or else," she stated. ""You could die." I grit my teeth. Perfect, I thought bitterly.

"Like Max's," Fang murmured from beside me. "What?" I asked. "Max used to have a tracker in her arm as well before we got it removed," he told me, his eyes flicking to Ash warily.

"How did you get it removed?" Max spoke for him. "My mom, she's a veterinarian," she explained. "She had the equipment and knew how to take it out safely." "And your mom is currently a hundred or more miles away right now," I sighed.

I was going over possible solutions, none of them were great, when I came to a realization. If the School knew where I was at all times, I was endangering everybody.

They could send assassins and erasers and whomever else they had to kill the Flock and I. "The School knows where I am, I'm leading them right to you all. I-." "No," the look Fang gave me was enough to make my mind stop spinning with the worst case scenarios. "We'll find another way."

I knew better than to argue. Like Fang had told me, none of them were leaving me, especially him. I couldn't leave them, we would have to find a different solution, no matter how reluctant I was to endanger them. I pressed a hand to my forehead and tried to think.

Fang watched me silently from lowered brows before turning to Brigid. "Do you have Dr. Martinez's phone number?" "Yes," Dr. Dwyer responded slowly, as if thinking carefully about every word. "But if not already, any moment we could lose cell reception." "Then I'll make it quick."

Bridgid dug around her pocket before drawing out her phone, "I'll go-." "I'll do it," Fang rushed out his words. The phone had just barely touched his palm when he swiftly strode out into the hallway to make the call.

My eyes lingered on where he had exited for a while before Max tapped my shoulder. "I know you don't want anyone to get hurt, but don't do anything stupid," she told me. I nodded, perplexed at why she would warn me. "Good," Max settled into a chair beside me.

I breathed deeply and shut my eyes. If I couldn't do anything, I would think. My mind wandered all sorts of places, Kaya, (or Akila as they now called her,) my parents, the School, and more before settling on the Flock.

I wondered what life was like for them before I arrived. I pictured an adorable younger angel, with even blonder hair than she had currently and her already large eyes enormous on her youthful round face. I smiled at the thought.

I also thought of Max and Fang. The two seemed so in sync and close. It made me ponder if there was any history between the two. Reluctantly, not wanting to pry, I opened my eyes and asked Max, "Did you and Fang ever date."

Max burst out laughing. It was the kind of incredulous laugh one gave when someone asked a ridiculously absurd question. Finally, she wiped her eyes and looked over at me. "Yes… No, well, kind of." "How descriptive," Ash supplied from her bed. "Oh, shut it," I snapped.

Ash settled back into her pillows, scowling. "Anyways," Max continued. "Fang and I are best friends. We work better that way. While we love each other, it's a family kind of love. You know what I mean?" She asked. I did indeed know what she meant, but other than that I never really grew up with a family love. "Sorry, that was a little insensitive," she apologized.

"No worries, yeah, I understand," I hated the small feeling of relief I felt at her assurances. "I once thought I might love him in another way, but I feel like we all eventually mistake our own feelings for another kind." I hated even more the way my heart clenched at the thought of Fang and Max together.

I was new, I wasn't fully apart of the Flock. At least not yet. I didn't feel fully integrated into it already, but I hoped that one day I would get the chance to. I smiled at Max and nodded.

Ash opened her mouth to say something most likely sarcastic, "Don't bother," I told her. I rose from my chair, "I'm going to go see how everything is going with your mom." "Sure," Max replied. She then turned away from me and began to talk with Dr. Dwyer.

Outside, Fang was leaning up against the hallway wall. His head was thrown back in thought. "Hi," I said quietly, closing the door behind me. He returned a smile that was obviously forced, "Hi."

"What's wrong?" I couldn't help but blurt out the question that was lingering in my mind. "Nothing, everything's fine. I just got off the phone with Dr. Martinez, she's going to fly out to our coordinates. She'll bring all the necessary equipment."

"That's good, isn't it?" I still couldn't see why he was slightly upset. "It is," Fang wouldn't meet my gaze. "What is it that you're not telling me?"

His dark eyes met mine for a moment, "Just… Don't do anything stupid or dangerous. Okay?" He looked slightly desperate, which was something I doubted he let a lot of people see.

But I was tired of him dancing around the truth, "Max told me the same thing. Can I have a reason as to why you two are warning me?" Fang took a shuddering breath. "Max, when she had her tracker in, tried to take it out by herself. She almost bled out on a beach and died. So just don't- don't do anything like that."

With those words, everything fell into place. So that's what this is about. "I won't," I told him, actually meaning what I said. "Try to take it out myself."

He nodded, although not looking fully reassured. "Promise me," he said, placing his hands on my shoulders. I stared up at him, "I promise." His touch was warm and it sent shivers down my spine.

"Okay," he breathed, but he didn't remove his hands. We said nothing for a few moments, Fang's eyes running over my face, trying to tell if I was lying.

When he had decided I wasn't, he leaned his face slightly neared to mine. Expecting him to kiss me, I closed my eyes. Instead, his mouth pressed softly onto my forehead.

He wrapped me in an embrace and for the first time since I had escaped the school, I felt fully and completely safe. I smiled softly into his collar. Just when I thought the moment was perfect, I heard a door swing open.

I jumped back, putting space between Fang and I, but it was too late. Nudge stood in the doorway, grinning maniacally. "I knew you too would make a great couple!" I could feel my cheeks burning and my eyes grew wide.

 **Author's Note: Hi guys! Sorry if that was a bit of a short chapter but I promise to make the next one a bit longer. I also owe the amazing plot idea of Skylar's tracker to Kaitlyn. Thanks so much for all of your reviews, I love hearing from you guys and they always make me want to write more. XOXO- Skai.**


	10. Chapter 10: Surgeries and Scars

I was blushing furiously and Fang's eyes were cast to the ground. He waved an awkward hand, "Um, hi Nudge." Nudge's eyes were practically bulging out of her head, and was grinning ear to ear. "Hi," I murmured softly.

She smirked, "Hi." "So," Fang began. "Do you have anything to tell us or…?" His voice trailed off. "Oh, right. I almost forgot!" Nudge slapped a hand onto her forehead. "Apparently there's another lady on the boat, not Ash, her name is Sue Ann Wong.

"She's been super nice and was showing me and Angel of these really adorable photos of Akil-, I mean Kaya. Max said I should come get you guys to meet her, plus we're about to do a PowerPoint." Nudge spoke so quickly it was hard to tell if she even took a breath. "Okay," I smiled, anything to get out of the awkward situation we were currently in.

As Nudge led us to another door she continued to talk. Before we entered she turned to Fang and I, "Don't worry, I won't tell anyone." She opened the door and added, "Yet." Which made me start blushing all over again.

A woman who I assumed was Sue Ann Wong, stood over a computer. She had long dark hair that framed her face and an athletic build. The Flock, along with Bridgid, Dr. Papa and even Ash, all sat in chairs all facing a screen. Sue's looked up and broke into a grin, "You must be Skylar and Fang." I nodded, "Nice to meet you."

Kaya trotted over and pushed her muzzle into my leg. "You as well, I've heard so much about you. Newest member of the flock, former owner of Kaya," I could tell she almost said Akila, but I was happy she made the effort. "And you do have silver hair just like Angel said."

I laughed and looked toward Angel, "Just like Angel said." Sue turned her attention towards Fang, "Fang, who wears a lot of black, I'm assuming." Fang nodded and forced a grin, "Yep." He looked strangely uncomfortable knowing he had been talked about.

As if noticing his uneasiness, Sue spun on her heel and made a few clicks on the computer until the screen lit up with a PowerPoint. "And here's the presentation on global warming," she announced. We took our seats and listed attentively .

24 Hours Later:

I stood pressed against the railing, cold wind tousling my hair and staining my cheeks and ears pink. Maneuvering through the dark waters in front of me, was a boat half the size of our own, it carried Dr. Martinez and whatever else she needed to take the tracker out of my arm.

I would've liked to say my black jeans and navy blue hoodie did wonders for protecting me from the cold, they didn't. I shivered and pulled my jacket closer to my body. Noticing this, Fang came to stand behind me, rubbing my arms up and down to warm me up. I looked back at him and gave a small smile of appreciation.

When the other boat was probably hazardously close to our own, Dr. Martinez, accompanied by a large bag of medical supplies, shimmied up the ladder onto the deck. "Mom!" Max greeted her with a hug.

"Hi," the grin on Dr. Martinez's face at the sight of Max made a small pang of sadness go through me. I shook the feeling off and slowly pulled away from Fang to greet her. "Hello," I said.

"Skylar, it's so nice to see you again," she pulled me into a hug without a second glance. Not to say that I didn't appreciate it, but I was slightly uncomfortable with the gesture of affection that was foreign to me.

"You too," I tried to hide the discomfort in my voice. If Dr. Martinez noticed it, she didn't outwardly acknowledge it. After everybody had gotten into the warmth of the indoors, she said, "Okay, so I hear you have a tracker in your arm."

I nodded. "I don't know about you, but I'm ready to take it out right now. Are you okay with that, or would you like to wait?" It didn't take me long to decide that the sooner I got it out, the safer everyone would be. "Now is fine."

"We have a clinic that you can work in," offered Bridgid. "That would be great thanks." Before we headed to the clinic Fang asked, "Would it be fine if I came as well?"

Dr. Martinez replied, "Sure, I don't see why not." He nodded and followed us out into the hallway. I found myself lying awkwardly on a stainless steel operation table. Why the heck did this boat have an operation table? I asked myself incredulously, trying to focus on something else besides the familiarity of the cold metal beneath me.

This wasn't the School, I was fine. I would be under drugs this time, I wouldn't feel anything. I took a deep breath, attempting to steady my frantic emotions. Dr. Martinez stood beside me, drawing some of my blood. Fang stood on my other side, gripping my hand firmly. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine," I tried to make myself convincing by looking him the eyes. I knew that he knew I was lying. I squeezed his hand so that he wouldn't be able to tell my hands were shaking. He looked down at me, probably seeing the terror written all over my face.

As Dr. Martinez was readying her utensils and tools she explained, "So I couldn't grab any anesthetic without anybody asking questions so I got the next best thing. It's a kind of drug that will numb you to all pain, but it can make you have hallucinations before it puts you to sleep." I swallowed thickly, "Okay."

"Do you want some water?" Fang asked me, feeling helpless. I nodded. He checked with Dr. Martinez, "Can I go get her some water?" She looked up from her work, "Go ahead."

Once he left, she came around to me and strapped my forearm down. "Ready?" She asked. "Yep." Quickly, she inserted the needle into my skin and I felt a wave of coolness as the drugs were carried into my system.

Slowly, my vision darkened a bit and my mind became fuzzy. Dr. Martinez said something that I couldn't quite make out. I gazed up the fluorescent lights above me. Oh god, I was at the School.

Panic swept through me. Somebody entered the room. It had to have been Jeb. I pulled against the strain that was holding my arm down and whimpered. He said something to Dr. Martinez, a concerned look on his face. "Skylar?" He asked me. How strange, his voice didn't sound like Jeb's, but he had to be Jeb.

He came towards me. "No!" I cried out. "Skylar, it's me, Fang." I tried to sit up, "Don't lie to me, Jeb!" His eyes widened with shock. He came towards me, I struggled to get away but I couldn't. I felt a wave of hatred towards him.

If I couldn't escape, I would have to do something else. I clawed at his face. He jerked away, but four small gashes marred his left cheek. Dr. Martinez gasped. "I'm fine," he reassured her. "She thinks I'm Jeb." I bared my teeth, "You are Jeb."

He gripped my wrist and pinned it down. His face was hovering above me, "Skylar, I'm not Jeb, I'm Fang. I don't want to hurt you."

"Liar," I spat. His contorted into a look of pain, so brief I was sure I had imagined it. "Leave," Dr. Martinez ordered. "If she thinks she's in the School there's nothing you can do." Reluctantly, he jumped away from me and took a wet cloth from Dr. Martinez. She directed him before he exited, "Clean that, you don't want it to get infected."

Dr. Martinez, I realized, why was she here? I didn't know, nothing made sense and I was tired, so tired. I just wanted to sleep. So I did.

 **Author's Note: Hi guys! Here's another chapter, I'm probably going to be putting up another one this week. I want to post a lot more before my school begins, because I won't be able to update as often during the school year. I'm thinking of doing some paragraphs or maybe even chapters in Fang's POV. Tell me if you'd like that or not in a review. XOXO- Skai.**


	11. Chapter 11: Rooftops and Rocky Paths

I woke with a start, disoriented and afraid for some reason. I glanced around, I recognized the the room, it was the bunker for the Flock. I felt strangely comforted by the fact, I didn't know why. I was in one of the beds with the comforter pulled around me.

Dr. Martinez was sitting next to me in a chair, scribbling incessantly in a notebook on her lap. "Oh, you're awake." "Where's Fang?" I asked, I thought he would've been there when I woke up. "I sent him away." I was confused, "Why?"

"You don't remember anything do you?" She gave me a sad, comforting smile. "No," my stomach dropped at all of the possibilities running through my mind. I felt sick when Dr. Martinez explained, "You thought you were in the School and Fang was Jeb. He tried to talk to you but you were terrified of him. You scratched his face pretty badly."

My hands snaked into my hair until I was pulling at it. "No," I whispered to myself. Dr. Martinez started rubbing my back soothingly, I jerked away and stood up. "I have to-," I panted. "I have to-." I bolted out into the hallway and ran until I felt cold air on my face. I flew towards the sky, no, he would find me there. Instead, I landed softly on the roof, careful to be as soundless as possible. I slowly slid onto my knees, before I knew what was happening I felt the wetness on my cheeks.

I heard a door burst open below me. "Skylar!" Fang yelled. "Skylar!" I didn't want to face him, not after what I'd done. "Skylar!" He called again. His head was whipping around frantically looking for me. It only made another fresh wave of guilt and regret wash over.

I bit back a sob as tears streamed down my cheeks. I pulled my knees to my chest and buried my face into them, arms wrapped around myself out of habit. I looked upward slightly and watched Fang shoot into the sky above the ship. His large, black wings flapping. His feathers glistened in the light. He scrubbed his face with his hand, frustrated.

I had to stop watching or I knew I would burst into loud, sobbing tears. I hid my face once more, dampening my jeans. I bit my lip but stopped myself before I drew blood. How could I have hurt him? How did I manage to claw his face?

Oh god, I thought as I heard Fang's feet land beside me on the roof. "Skylar," he was panting as he said my name. I curled further into a ball, I only hated myself more because of it. He sighed and took a seat beside me.

I wanted to run, I wanted to fly away, I wanted to sob, scream and cry. I did none of those things. After sitting for a few minutes in silence, me, holding my breath so he couldn't hear how it quivered, I raised my head. "I'm so sorry," I whispered.

"I'm sorry," I repeated, finding my voice a bit. It came out soft and hoarse. "I thought you were Jeb and I was back at the school," I rambled. "I thought you were going to hurt me or inject me with something, I was scared. And I know that's not an excuse but I-." I continued speaking hurriedly, knowing if I stopped I would cry.

"Skylar," Fang repeated the only word he'd said to me so far, my name. When I didn't stop he pulled me to him. "Stop," He breathed, his face was inches from mine. I stopped.

I finally took in all of his face, the marks from where I'd scratched him were already healing but they weren't completely gone. The faint pink lines across his cheekbones were interlaced with small scabs in the spots my nails had cut deep. I withheld a wince.

"It's fine," he told me. It wasn't, at least not from my point of view. "It was accident and look," he gripped my hand and gently guided it over the wounds. "They'll be gone by tomorrow."

Moments after, his lips captured mine. They were soft and sweet. The kiss tasted of Fang and my tears, it was beautiful and broken. My body was filled with electricity at his touch and my heart was pounding so loud I was sure he could hear it.

Our mouths moved in sync as he pulled me closer. My hands remained wrapped around my torso until I untangled them and maneuvered them around his neck. His dark hair was soft as I gripped it.

We stayed wrapped in each other's arms, a tangle of limbs and lips, for a long while. When we finally broke apart, we were both panting and struggling for breath.

Slowly, I sat myself back down on the roof. Fang wordlessly drew me to him. I was completely content in that moment, leaning against his chest and staring up at a starlit sky. If only had I looked at Fang, and not the moon and stars. I would have seen him looking at me as if we were the only two people in the world.

Fang's POV:

Skylar's head was tilted towards the sky and her silver hair was illuminated by the starlight. I watched her closely. Although I would never admit it out loud, I could have stared at her like that for the rest of my life and would've been content.

I grinned when I saw that she had a small smile on her lips and her eyes were wide with wonder. I knew if I looked up, I would be awed by the night sky, same as she. But somehow, I couldn't tear my eyes away from her.

Skylar's POV:

"Why do you not let yourself cry?" Fang asked quietly, playing with a strand of my hair between his fingers. "I do cry." "Yes, but you always hold back everything. You're absolutely silent. Why do you do that to yourself?"

I took a deep breath, recalling the memories I tried so hard to forget. "In the School, whenever I cried, they would punish me," I despised how weak my voice sounded but I continued anyway. I felt his arms tense around me and I added, "Not physically.

"They would give me drugs that would make me see things. I would think I was dying, falling off a cliff, being chased by a dog, things like that. I would spend my night in my crate terrified of the hallucinations. So I learned to cry quietly to avoid them."

Fang looked at me with a deep sorrow in his eyes, "I'm sorry." "Don't be," I told him. "You're the one who got me out, who made it so I would never have to endure that again."

Fang's POV:

I vowed silently to make it so Skylar would never see the School again. The mental image of her trapped inside those awful crates and enduring all that she had, haunted me. I almost shuddered at the thought. I didn't know my feelings about her completely yet, or maybe I did. I just wanted to ignore their intensity for a little while loner.

"Some nights, a doctor there would sneak me the antidote, his name was Will. He was the kindest one there," almost reflexively I tightened my hold on her. A sharp twinge of jealousy made me want to squander it before it could spread any further. I felt tremendously guilty when logic finally set in.

She had been completely alone at the School. No one to go to and no one to talk to. At least when the Flock was in the School, we had each other. Skylar had been alone. I tucked my face into her hair. "I'm sure he was," I murmured kindly.

 **Author's Note: Hi guys! I hope you liked that chapter. If you did please remember to review, favorite, and follow. I love hearing from you guys. So how did you like reading from Fang's POV. I kept them kind of short to see if you guys would like to read more of it or if you didn't like it. Please tell me in a review. Thanks! XOXO- Skai.**


	12. Chapter 12: Starting With the Silver One

**Author's Note: So I did decide on a ship name for Fang/Skylar with the help of one of my friends. It's now Fanglar. Thanks, Raven1025 for suggesting it! I'm also switching back to Skylar's POV for now. Happy reading! XOXO- Skai.**

I slept better than I had in a long while that night. Wrapped in the blanket of knowing that I had somebody who cared, people who cared. When my head finally hit my pillow in the early hours of the morning after staying with Fang on the roof, I was asleep almost instantly.

My nightmares weren't that bad that night, if you could call my dream a nightmare. I saw Dylan, with his sandfly blonde hair and tanned skin, he was the same age that I had seen him last, nine years old. He didn't say a word, but he didn't need to. He wrapped me in a hug that was so familiar I could call it home.

I missed him, so much more than I would ever like to admit, he had been like my older brother. He loved me like family at a time when I had never been loved before. So no, my dream wasn't a nightmare, but waking up, remembering he was gone, that was.

The pale sunlight spilled into the room as I took in my surroundings, all the beds were empty but several remained unmade. I stood up and walked around to the small chest that was at the end of my bunk, it was filled with a few toiletries and some clothes that Max had generously given me and others that we had found the time to buy quickly at a store with a credit that we found.

I ran a brush through my hair as I decided what I wanted wear for the day. None of them were designer brand or over twenty dollars, but they were clothes that weren't white, another sign I had truly left the School.

I pulled on a pair of black leggings and a navy blue jumper, making sure the bandage that was wrapped around my arm was covered. Most of my clothes were plain and solid colors. Maroons, blacks, dark blues and grey's. What can I say? Yellows and neons didn't exactly go well with silver hair.

I was pleased to see that Max's clothes were fitting slightly more snugly on my body. I was gaining back some of the wait that I had lost over a long time at the School.

I was tying the shoelaces of my sneakers when Gazzy popped his head into the room. "Breakfast is ready," he announced, padding over to me.

"Okay," I smiled, ruffling his hair as I stood up. I was a decent foot and a half taller than him. He grinned back.

The dining room also doubled as a kitchen and an office. Needless to say, as big as the boat was, the space wasn't unlimited. I sat down at the table and Bridgid began to place plates of eggs, biscuits, and bacon in front of everyone. The portions were surprisingly large enough to feed Max.

"Eat up," she instructed. "This is some of the last fresh food we have. When it's all gone we have to start eating all the rest." Of course, I should've realized. If we were on a boat with no access to grocery stores, we wouldn't have things like eggs or milk or anything that could go bad over time. I was fine with canned food, as long as it was food.

"Thank you," I said, gulping down a mouthful scalding hot eggs. Bridgid nodded in acknowledgement. "Would anyone like some coffee?" Fang and Max both nodded. Iggy declined, "No thanks, I'm good." "I want some," Nudge spoke up, Gazzy nodded eagerly in agreement.

"Nuh-uh," Max shook her head. "No coffee for you guys. It'll stunt your growth." Nobody argued with her but I could tell Nudge had a debate on the tip of her tongue. "Skylar?"

"Umm, sure," I decided. The Flock made small talk as a bitter yet refreshing smell wafted from the coffee maker. When the steaming mugs were placed in front of us, Max drained hers in ten seconds tops. I stifled a laugh.

I sniffed mine cautiously. Fang let out a chuckle, "You've never had coffee before, have you?" I shook my head. "Try it," he advised. "You might like it."

After swirling the dark liquid around the cup a few time, I raised it to my lips and took a small sip. It was a strong taste, and it was bitter. But I liked it.

"It's good." I took another drink, liking the warmth that spread throughout my abdomen from it. "Where's Ash?" I asked. "Eating in the infirmary," replied Max. "She seems to be healed completely. I was thinking today we could test her wings."

"Sure," I didn't know exactly how I felt about Ash. We were opposites, fire and ice, literally. But the School had tampered with her, made her the way she was in some ways. And for that I felt a pang of sympathy for her.

Max added, "I think it would be best if you and I did it with her. She doesn't seem to trust anyone else. Although I don't think you could call it trust." I contemplated it for a bit, "You're probably right. How about after breakfast?" I suggested. Max smiled, "Perfect."

My eyes drifted over to Fang, just speaking of it I could tell Fang was already wary about the situation. I wanted to put my hand in his and verbally assure him that it would be fine. I couldn't do the latter so I settled for the former.

I slipped my hand into his under the table. He squeezed my palm in acknowledgement. The small gesture made electricity spark through my hand and my stomach do flip-flops.

After everyone had finished eating, I found myself hovering above the boat. Max and Ash were on either side of me. "So I see your wings are working fine," Max lamented, her tone indicating she didn't care in the slightest.

I understood why the Flock hated Ash. I really did, but instead of waves of hatred, I had sympathy for her. The sky above us was stormy gray, the color of my eyes. Below us, the Flock and everyone else stood on the deck, watching us and chatting.

"Do either of you know how to angle your wings?" Max asked. "Yeah," I replied. "I learned by watching this documentary on birds of prey in the School. You just mimic their wings right?" Max smiled, "Yep, that's it."

"I don't have the slightest clue about what either of you are talking about!" Ash exclaimed, frustrated. Max's face hardened, "Then you'll learn."

We began to go over the movements and how to angle your wings the best so you had more agility when flying. "I think I've got the hang of it." A wide grin was plastered on Ash's face.

"It definitely seems like it," I complimented as she swiftly made a sharp turn, her wings in perfect form. "Do you guys want to race?" Ash looked hopeful.

Max and I glanced at each other, competition gleaming in our eyes. "Absolutely," Max challenged. I smirked, flying over to Max's side. Ash did the same.

"On your marks," I began. "Get set. Go!" We all took of at terrifyingly fast speeds, looping around the ship as we went. I was so enamored in the race, when a set of muscular arms wrapped around me, claws digging into my stomach, I didn't have time to think.

Max and Ash were both being grasped by eraser's as well. Oh god, how did they find us? I thought, panicking. A wave of nausea washed over me when I heard a familiar click and a cold metal barrel was pressed to the side of my head.

 **Fang's POV:**

As both Iggy and I flew into the air I could feel my terror grappling with me. The eraser's had Max, Ash and Skylar pressed against them, hand guns that looked like they could do some serious damage, against their heads. I halted at the sight of them, although there was nothing more that I wanted to do than fly to them.

The eraser holding Skylar growled. "One foot closer to us and they're all dead." Unlike Ash's and even Max's face, Skylar's wasn't painted with fear, instead it was with concentration.

I saw a small spark of ice come from her hand, the eraser only up jammed the gun harder against her skull. He whispered something to her that made her face go alabaster with fear. She stopped struggling.

"We're going to leave, and you're not going to follow us," one of the eraser's instructed. "You won't because if you do, we'll put a bullet in their heads." A sly smile crept across another's face, "Starting with the pretty silver one."

How could they tell that she was so important to me, was it that obvious? "It's written all over your face," Angel's voice appeared in my head. Great, I thought sarcastically. A small whimper escaped Skylar as claws sank further and further into her side, about to pierce the skin.

Rage rippled through me, my voice was a low growl when I said, "Stop hurting her." "I don't take orders from you," but the eraser loosened his grip.

Too soon the eraser's took off flying, heading towards I direction I knew the School was at.

I landed on the deck. "We're not going to go after them?!" Nudge cried. A plan was formulating in my head. "No," I said, trying to keep my voice even and calm. Bridgid was apparently thinking the same thing as I. "Fang had me plant a small tracker on Ash's clothes where she wouldn't notice."

"We wait until their a few miles out, then we start to follow them far away enough that we won't be noticed. Iggy and I will go." I knew what was coming. "But I want to go," Nudge placed her hands on her hips. There it was.

"So do I," Gazzy piped up. Angel only looked at me pointedly, "You need me. I can read minds and control people, something that's pretty useful for breaking into the School."

I sighed, she had a point. "Fine, Angel you can come." Gazzy's mouth settled into a hard line, a look far too serious for someone his age. "If Angel's going, I'm going." "If you're letting the two youngest people come, I should be allowed to come," Nudge argued.

I was getting exasperated, "Fine! Everyone with freaking wings can come." "Will you be coming back to continue the research?" Asked Dr. Papa. "I don't know, maybe. I'll give you guys a call, I memorized the number on Bridgid's phone in case of an emergency," I told them. "But the cell reception-." "We'll just have to see."

I turned to the rest of the Flock, "Ready?" All of them nodded. Please let them be okay, I prayed silently as I shot into the air.

 **Author's Note: Hi guys! Hope enjoyed that chapter, I know it wasn't super amazing and interesting but the next one will be, promise :). Don't forget, please review, follow, and favorite. I update every week, sometimes more, and only every once in awhile, less. Thanks. XOXO- Skai.**


	13. Chapter 13: Fire and Ice

Skylar's POV:

My vision grew blurry and my mind hazy after feeling a pin prick on my arm. They had drugged me. I could faintly feel myself being lifted into some kind of vehicle. A loud chopping noise let me know it was a helicopter as we lifted into the air.

My limbs were heavy and limp, and I was so tempted to give in to the darkness that beckoned me and surrounded the edges of my sight.

I couldn't, I wasn't sure why, but I couldn't give in. I knew I shouldn't. Voices merged together around me, I wasn't able to make out the words. But one voice did sound familiar.

At the sound of the masculine voice, I could feel my heart start pounding and panic flooded my mind. Even though I didn't know why. "Skylar," a looming face hovered above mine. His eyes, the dark menacing eyes that peered down on me, they sent waves of hatred rushing through me.

I wanted to get away. I struggled but it was a strenuous task simply to move an inch. The man smiled. "And she can't remember who I am?" He turned to someone else beside him. "She can't put together many coherent thoughts at the moment. She probably recognizes you slightly, but doesn't know why. It'll only last for the next hour or so."

"Fantastic! Without her hating me, she won't be so stubborn about not going back to the School." "For now," the other voice replied. "I…" It was hard to find the words and my throat hurt. "I do… Hate… You."

The man let out a hearty laugh, "Oh, I'm sure." He turned away from me and began to chat with his colleague.

Fang. The word was echoing in my head. Fang. I hadn't the slightest idea why. It was the last word I remember thinking as I began to drift into a drug induced sleep.

Fang's POV:

I watched as they loaded her into a helicopter. Eraser's swarmed the air around it and Skylar, Max and Ash were all limp as they were carried into it. I grit my teeth.

I heard Nudge gasp behind me. Gazzy shushed her. "Do you want us to get caught?" She glared at him but didn't make another sound. I could feel dread welling up inside me. Skylar was headed back to the School. The very place I vowed she wouldn't ever go back to.

There was nothing more I wanted to do then punch out the teeth of the eraser that was holding her and grab her. I couldn't. Grabbing any of them would mean either suicide or capture for the rest of the Flock. That wouldn't help anybody get out of this situation.

"We're just going to have to follow them to the school," I whispered loudly above the noise of the helicopter. It began to lift into the air. "We'll wait until it's dark, then we'll try to break in and get them back."

"What if we're too late?" Angel's voice was unnervingly calm as she said the words. "We won't be." I was assuring myself more than the others. I hoped we weren't, I didn't think I could live with myself if we were.

I didn't know what to do without Max, my best friend since childhood. I probably wouldn't miss Ash, I felt bad to admit. And Skylar. I hadn't known her for very long, but I was already too attached.

I loved the way she smiled. The way she would look at the world as if looking at it for the first time when she was flying, it probably was her first time actually seeing those things. She found beauty in things I ordinarily overlooked. How she still fought and tried to control her ice, even when it caused her pain.

She had softened me, she had made me love her even when I wasn't looking for love. I loved her even when I wasn't even sure what love was.

I loved her even when I probably couldn't be more wrong for her. She was light and happy despite her past, and I was normally dark and silent. But maybe that's what made us fit together. I didn't know what to think about that.

I startled myself when I realized I had said I loved her, well, at least internally. I was surprised, but it was also a nice feeling. My gosh, I scolded myself, you really have gone soft. But I couldn't be that right now, not when Skylar's and all their lives depended on it.

Skylar's POV:

When I woke up, fluorescent lights burned my eyes. Overwhelming dizziness made me lean back against my pillow. I was on a small cot. At least it wasn't a cage, I thought.

I found myself dressed in white, again. I felt out of place in fabric. I realized with a sickening glance around the room and a look down at myself, I hated the color white. It was the color of nothing, the color of sanitized, sterile lab coats and walls that I stared at when I felt lonely.

I was never scared of the dark, simply because it provided me with an escape from the blankness I faced almost have of my life. White was blank, white was nothing, white was the color that I had had no control over because it was everywhere.

I shuddered. Max was laying down in a bed across from me, Ash in another. Ash was sitting up, leaning against a wall with her eyes closed tightly. "It was my fault," the words were so soft I had to strain to hear them.

"What?" She opened her eyes and I could see the despair that was tearing her apart. "I had a tracker in my arm, same as you. I lead them right to you."

I didn't understand why this would upset her, the School had found her once more. She was amongst the people she had allied herself with a long time ago. "I don't see why this is a problem for you, you did your job, didn't you? In one way of a sort."

She let out a bitter and dry laugh. "That's what I've been telling myself. But the truth is, I could have been happy with you guys, if you let me. I would have been happier there than I ever would've had the School. Now all of us are captured, because I was too selfish to leave."

I felt a pang of sympathy go through me for the fiery girl. "You can't blame yourself entirely. While it was your tracker, you were barely with us for three days. For most of which you were injured, it's not as if you could've gotten up and left with broken ribs," I told her, trying to make the whole situation better. Nothing could've have made it better, I should've realized.

Ash smiled, a painful smile but a smile nonetheless. Max was rubbing her eyes as she sat up, when the door opened. In the doorway stood Jeb, accompanied by two eraser's on either side looking like cliche goons. "Ash," Jeb nodded at us. "And Skylar, you two are going to be taken in for testing. Max, Dr. Jekyll should be with you shortly."

I almost wanted to laugh at the irony of his words, it sounded almost as if we were in a doctor's office, awaiting a checkup, not the School. I stood, knowing no amount of struggling would do me any good.

I felt an eraser's clawed hands latch onto my arms, I withheld a wince. The feeling was all too familiar. Ash did the same and we were led down a long and narrow hallway before turning into a room.

In the room was one chair and one examination table. This couldn't have been good. "Skylar," Jeb gestured to the chair. "Take a seat." I did, never taking my eyes of Ash.

"And what about me?" Ash spat, menacingly. "You can find yourself a place on the table." She hopped onto the stainless steel structure with a scowl. Jeb walked over to Ash's side, hands in his pockets.

"Fire and ice, did you know there was a poem called Fire and Ice? It was by Robert Frost. A lovely poem, although a bit depressing." A sinister smile was spreading over his face. "'Some say the world will end in fire, some say in ice. From what I've tasted of desire, I hold those who favor fire.'" He cited.

"You see, even Frost knew that it could all only end one way, not in both. I do have to disagree with him favoring fire, you see, I'd much rather end in ice." Anger flushed through me, "You will, I assure you."

Jeb ignored my threat, pulling a syringe out of his pocket. "It can only end one way, and My Dear's, I favor ice." He was about to plunge the syringe into Ash's neck when I shouted, "No!"

Ash's eyes flashed toward me, shocked by my reaction. "Dru- Drug me. Not Ash." Jeb looked at me from under hooded eyes, "I'm not drugging her, Skylar. I'm killing her." I knew that I couldn't let that happen.

"Kill me then," my voice shook and was uneven with fear. "Kill me," I told him, trying control. Coolly, I added, "I favor fire."

That was when Max burst through the door, Jeb's face reflected surprise for a mere moment before turning back to Ash. He shoved the syringe into her neck. Her eyes widened but she didn't make a sound.

I felt an anger flash through me, so deep it was primal. I lunged for Jeb and clamped my hands around his neck. He pried at my grip but it was futile. I wasn't going to let go, at least not without more of a fight.

"Ash," Max said softly, kneeled so she was eye level with Ash. Ash was laying down on the table. The color was fading out of her and her cheeks looked waxy. That one word brought me back into reality.

I had known I was killing Jeb, but I didn't want to be a killer. Instead of continuing to choke him, I slammed his head backward into a tiled wall. He collapsed to the ground. He probably had a concussion, but he was alive.

I rushed over to Ash, "Skylar." Her voice was weak and frail. "Take my hand," I did as I was told. In that moment, I felt an overwhelming power rush through me. It was so hot it burned my veins and skin where I touched her. Her palm remained flat against mine, her fingers gripping my hand so I couldn't move.

I screamed out in pain. Max tried to pull my hand away, but instead yelped back. Our skin, Ash's and mine, had singed her. It was as if every fiber and nerve in my body was suddenly ignited in flames and heat, and the ice that was running in my blood remained. But it was batting with the the fire.

I felt Ash's hand go limp in mine and the pain stopped. "I… Gave you…. My fire," Ash managed, then her head lolled to the side and her eyes glazed over. I stumbled back into a wall, if I didn't I knew I would fall to the floor. "Skylar," Max approached me slowly as if approaching a wild animal. "We have to get out of here, now."

And so we ran.

Author's Note: Hi guys! Sorry I had to take the last chapter down and replace it with this one. For some odd reason the spacing got a little messed up. Tell me again if that happens and I'll try to make sure it doesn't. Don't forget, please follow, favorite and review. So how do you feel about the ending of this chapter? Tell me in a review! Thanks. XOXO- Skai.


	14. Chapter 14: Will and Will Powers

**Author's Note: Hi guys! Thank you so much for all of your lovely reviews, when I saw a few of the recent ones I just jumped onto my laptop and started writing. I love hearing from you guys so much and I noticed that I'm nearing 50 reviews! Oh my gosh, I can't believe it. So I decided to do a bit of a prize for the 50th reviewer. I'll tell you more later on. Thanks. XOXO- Skai.**

Skylar's POV:

I hurtled my body through hallways and tried to avoid breathing. I didn't want to smell the sterile, hospital like smell I knew was lingering in the air. I felt alive, with blood thrumming through my veins and my heart pounding against my rib cage.

I felt hot and cold everywhere. Where I could feel heat underneath my skin I could also feel ice, combating the new substance. I didn't want to think about Ash, I didn't want to think about the fire that was swelling inside me like a lion waiting to pounce.

Thinking would just lead to heartbreak and emotions I didn't understand. Instead, I focused on feeling. I noticed the way my feet lightly skimmed the tiled floors as I sprinted. The way oxygen would always feel so frigidly cold as it entered my body with labored breaths and exit with warm uneven sighs.

My lungs swelled with air then expelled. My chest was rising and falling. It was so normal, such a human function it was hardly even looked at. But when terrible shadows prowled in the back of my mind, it was a welcome distraction.

Max latched a firm grasp onto my wrist, yanking me into a sharp turn down a different route. "This way's faster," she explained through her panting. I'm sure if the walls weren't all white, my vision would've blurred with my speed. However, my surroundings simply melded together into a world of white.

The sun shone painfully in my eyes as we found what we were looking for, a window. It wasn't very large, but just large enough we could jump through it with our wings tucked tightly against our spines. Max gave me a quick glance, taking in my bare arms and her jacket covered ones. Inhaling, she shoved an elbow into the glass. It didn't even crack.

Max hissed with pain, jumping away from the glass pane. "My gosh! What are those things made of? Steel?!" I would've laughed any other time. "Let me," I said pushing past her. My body was begging me to release all of the power, the flames, the ice, into the air. I did the only thing that felt familiar to me and placed my palms against the glass.

I concentrated the cold that chilled my body in such a strangely warm way into my hands. I kept going until I heard a small crack and the window was coated in frost. Grimacing, Max jutted her elbow into the window one more time. Only this time, it shattered.

Glass shards fell to the floor with lovely tinkling sounds, as if were a beautiful thing. Max didn't hesitate before throwing herself out the window. I would've checked to see how close the ground was if it weren't for the recent events.

I realized I didn't really care as I followed her. Wind rushed around me, cradling me in slightly chilly nothingness. I smiled as I released my wings.

It felt like stretching a muscle that hadn't been used in a while. Relieving as well as unbelievably pleasant and painful. I let my wings lift me up into the air with a sudden jerk.

Max was already hovering above me, her wings flapping around her body. Stars shone brightly above us and the moon was covered eerily with clouds. I flew up to her, "What do we do now?" She laughed incredulously, "I have no idea."

She sighed. "But I'll tell you what we can do, we can fly to a motel far away from here, and camp there until we figure out a way to contact the Flock."

"Sounds like a plan," I grimaced in pain as a scorching heat burned my hands. A small flicker of a flame startled me. I jumped back away from my own outstretched limb. Although it was pointless, you couldn't escape yourself.

"Ash really did give you her fire," Max's eyes were wide. "But," my voice was shaking, "how?" I'm sure I looked as confused as I felt. "My guess is the heat of her fire somehow managed to meld your guys's DNA. Well, no, not her DNA, her… fire. You said you could always feel your ice, like it was a coolness in your veins?"

"Yeah, that pretty much describes it," I replied. I was confused and scared, but also scared enough that I wanted to learn more. If I was going to face something, I wasn't going to confront it blind. Max continued, "Maybe the heat allowed her fire to transfer into your veins, along with your ice. If that makes sense. And your ice hasn't diminished, so my guess is that they're both strong enough to not fade in the other's presence."

It made sense to me, in a strange way. I opened my mouth to respond but instead I heard a voice behind me. It was heartbreaking to hear it again, but I still recognized it. It had a slight boyish lilt to it, but all it's innocence was gone. It was Will's, although it had grown not only deeper but also darker and more twisted.

I turned slowly. My body was paralyzed with shock. It was him, but with more beastly features and a menacing glare directed at me. I refrained from shuddering at the horrific sight. Wings sprouted from his spine and loomed around his frame.

"Will," I heard myself breathe. There were other eraser's around us, but Will held all of my attention. My Will, the Will who wore a white lab coat but had a bigger heart than everyone in the School. The will who gave me the antidote to stop the hallucinations the drugs induced. The boy who was kind.

That boy was gone. He gave me a wicked grin. "Hi, Sky," he displayed his now sharply pointed canines. "Miss me?" "What did they do to you?" The question was directed to myself more than it was him, but he answered.

"You know exactly what they did. I'm an eraser," his face hardened with an emotion I couldn't place. The look seemed foreign on his monstrous features. I didn't have time to contemplate it, for moments after he lunged for me.

He attempted to pin my arms to my side with his strong, bony hands. I shrugged off his attempt and darted out of the way. He reached for a small pouch resting on his hip.

It was obviously meant for small objects, like paper clips and coins and maybe, at most a baseball. Instead, the handle of a gun hung unfittingly out of it's drawstring top. He gripped the gun and pulled it out, pointing it at my head.

Max was struggling with two other eraser's to my left. The gun was close enough I could see his finger resting lightly on the trigger. "You know what hurts a whole lot?" Will asked. I shook my head compliantly.

"A bullet to the stomach, or leg, that hurts pretty bad too. But what hurts even more is being left behind. Do you know what you did? You left me. You escaped and didn't even look back." "Will I-," I started. "Don't!" His voice wavered. "Don't make excuses or apologize. Because you know what I did, I asked to be this way. So that I could hunt you do, repay exactly the pain you caused me. But I wish I hadn't. Skylar, I wish I hadn't, because now I have something in brain screaming at me to kill you."

Tears streamed down his face. They were human tears, and his humanity seemed to seep out of his body, wetting his face. "I'm going to listen to it," he told me. "Please don't." It was all I could say.

"I will." The two eraser's Max had been fighting plummeted through the air towards the ground, incapacitated. Noticing the gun shadowing over my face, held by Will's shaking hand, she rushed towards us. Taking my opportunity, I pushed his arm aside, the gun firing but the bullet flying past me.

Max grasped his wrists and pressed them against the small of his back. I caught the gun, fumbling with it as I darted below us to where it fell. When I had it firmly placed in my hands, I braced my body for the recoil.

I rose up to Will and Max. "Don't make me have to do this," my voice was cold and calculated, everything that I wasn't feeling at the moment. I didn't want Will to die, I wanted anything but. He outstretched his neck. His snarling face nearing mine. I had my answer.

My finger pressed down on the trigger. A small bloody trail dripped down his face as Max released her hold on his body. I looked away from where I knew I would see his corpse lying awkwardly on the grass.

Suddenly, the handle of the gun heated up to a scorching degree. I let out a sound of pain and dropped the gun.

I clenched my jaw and tried to steady my hands. I wanted to tell myself excuses, anything that would make it go away. Anything that made me think of something else besides the look on his face before. It wasn't an emotion foreign to me. It was one so familiar it was like seeing an old friend you had never hoped to see again.

It wasn't anger or malice or even evil, it was sadness. It was sadness that ghosted the face of the monster he was. Because he was a monster, he had been. But it didn't make me feel any better.

I faced Max, hoping my face didn't betray how I felt. Max simply remarked, "You knew him. I'm sorry." And surprisingly, that was what made me feel a little bit better. "Thank you."

We flew in silence towards the cover of the trees. The tall evergreen tree's needles pricking my skin as I brushed past them. I felt myself relax at the warm feeling of being surrounded on all sides by trees. For a few moments it was easy to forget my fire, Will, and what we were going to do. Because I didn't know what to think about any of them.

Rustling sounded from up ahead. Max halted and raised a hand, signaling for me to do the same. Out from the cover of the trees, emerged the Flock.

Nudge's face was ecstatic. Angel and Gazzy exchanged a look, Angel's face read: I told you so. Iggy, even though blind, seemed as if he knew we were there. He smiled.

Fang's widened and I swear I could have seen his entire face soften as his eyes landed on me. I looked back. "I hate to tell you, but you guys are little late," Max laughed but it was obvious it was forced. But for the sake of the situation, we all smiled and laughed quietly.

 **Author's Note: Hi guys! So about the little prize for the 50th reviewer, I'm just doing a little thing where the 50th reviewer can give me a plot idea, can write a paragraph or a bit more for the next chapter, or can create an OC for the story. The rules are, no lemons, it has to make sense with the rest of the story, and has be to appropriate for a few of the younger readers, no cursing. Then let me start off by saying, thank you all so much for reviewing and following and favoriting. It is seriously the most amazing feeling for me when I get to read your reviews. Also, please don't wait until you're the 50th reviewer, that defies the whole point and I'll do another little prize for every 50th review. Thanks, sorry for the freakishly long author's note and the wait for me to update the story. XOXO- Skai.**


	15. Chapter 15: Unbelievable Bets

**Author's Note: Hi guys! Thank you so much for all of your reviews. For some reason a lot of them didn't show up in the review section on the website but I did receive all of them in my email. I also spent twenty minutes triple checking everything so that I got the right reviewer. I want to add thanks to everyone who has followed, favorited and reviewed my story. I truly thought nobody would ever read this or even look twice at it when I first started it. I'll announce the winner at the end of the chapter. And remember if you didn't win, I'll do another prize for the 100th reviewer then the 150th reviewer and so on.**

Previously: Fang's widened and I swear I could have seen his entire face soften as his eyes landed on me. I looked back. "I hate to tell you, but you guys are little late," Max laughed but it was obvious it was forced. But for the sake of the situation, we all smiled and laughed quietly.

Fang's mouth quirked to the side with a crooked smile. "Max!" Angel rushed to Max, embracing her tightly enough to have the air forced out of Max's lungs. I grinned at the sight of it. Gazzy and Iggy also joined her.

Angel and Gazzy then rushed to me, embracing me just as tightly. "Skylar!" Nudge cried. I wasn't expecting it when she slammed into me with a strong hug. I wasn't quite sure what to do. Slowly, I wrapped my arms around her as well. "I thought we might not see Max, you and Ash again. I was so scared."

At the mention of Ash, I could feel my body tense. Nudge pulled back, everyone was looking at us. "What is it?" A bit of realization dawned on her face. "Wait, where's Ash?" Max, thankfully, answered for me, "She's… She's dead."

Nudge gasped but Angel's eyes widened and she looked at me. "You have her fire!" She exclaimed. Of course, the fact that she could read minds had completely slipped my brain. Fang spun around sharply to face me from where he had turned to look back towards the School. "What?"

"Jeb killed her. When Ash died, she made Skylar take her hand. When she did, she transferred her fire into Skylar," Max continued, glancing at me. She seemed to know that I didn't want to talk about. "Explain more," Fang instructed, flying closer to me.

Max looked to me, as if to ask if it were okay if she continued speaking. I nodded to her. "My guess is Ash's heat allowed her fire to transfer through the skin into Skylar. But it wasn't a good experience for either one of them apparently. It didn't seem to hurt Ash that much though, probably because it was her fire, but Skylar had been screaming in pain." I wanted to cringe at her last sentence and the way it made me sound unbearably weak.

Currently, I could feel the fire pulsing in my veins, but for now at least, it was tame. Before I knew it, Fang had gathered my to him. I was wrapped in his arms and it felt so safe compared to the recent events. I hugged him back.

I was sure if everyone else hadn't known about us already, they would now. Although I couldn't really bring myself to care. He pulled away far too soon for my liking but he kept his hands planted on my shoulders and stayed right behind me. Nudge was smirking as Angel begrudgingly handed her a five dollar bill. All seriousness forgotten, Max burst out laughing. "You bet on them?!"

Angel simply looked toward the ground with a scowl. Nudge's grin just widened, "Yep! And I won." I couldn't help myself, I started giggling. I laughed until my sides hurt. Even Fang cracked a smile.

Iggy was chuckling softly but bore the news we all needed to hear, "We all better get going, we're only less than a mile away from the School." We all nodded in agreement. Max began to lead us to a destination I had no idea where.

It felt nice to fly again with the Flock. It gave me a feeling of home, even if I wasn't sure if we had a physical one. After a few hours of flying, I felt my hands start to fill with heat. Before I knew it, I had to dart down towards the floor of the forest we were flying over. My hands continued to burn and I could feel it's energy running through me. Luckily, we had been above a lake.

I finally released the pent up flames and held my palms out in front of me. Almost instantaneously I felt heat flow through my body towards my hands. In front of me, my fire collided with the water's surface before it could spread.

I was panting when it felt like I had no more fire left in me. It may have felt like it, but I could always feel more flames prowling beneath my skin within moments. It would never truly be gone, I realized.

I could hear Fang drop to the ground behind me. I turned to face him. "Are you okay?" He asked. I was scared by the new found ability, but also confused. Instead of confessing these things, I simply said, "I'm fine. I'm trying to get used to the fire." He looked like he didn't fully believe me but he didn't mention it.

We joined everyone else. The sun had risen and was now shining brightly in the late morning sky. After we were at least two states away we found ourselves a small, shabby little hotel. Once booked two rooms, one for the girls the other for the guys, we ordered some lunch. Over platefuls of food, Angel piped up. "Where are we going next?"

Max cocked her head to the side, contemplating it. "The voice says Africa." Right, okay then, I thought. The voice in Max's head said Africa, so we would go to Africa. I ignored the strangeness of it, after all, nothing about us was normal.

 **Author's note: The winner is… Bookrain! So just private message me or something like that and tell me which thing you would like to do and we'll take it from there. Thanks so much for reviewing! I was so happy when I saw that you were my 50th review. I believe you've been following my story for a while now, almost since the very beginning so I was sooooo excited when I saw it was you. Congratulations! Thanks to everyone who reviewed as well, like the two best friends who reviewed and so many others. XOXO- Skai.**


	16. Chapter 16: Reunions and Realizations

**Author's Note: Hi guys! So, ever since my school began I've been getting hours of homework and studying each night. (I go to a challenge school.) I've been getting really overwhelmed lately so I'm just going to start updating every weekend. You can expect a new chapter every weekend, happy reading. Thanks. XOXO- Skai.**

Somewhere over the North Atlantic, I began questioning Max's voice. Sure, the Flock said to trust it, and I did… For the most part. But, still, the idea of following an anonymous voice floating around in someone's head made me want to rethink things. Call paranoia or intuition, either way I had a feeling something was off. I just couldn't tell what.

I was nearing exhaustion when we finally touched down somewhere in Chad at a camp. Tents were pitched all around the campsite, and Jeeps and other cars were parked around the outskirts. People bustled around, although quite a few stopped dead in their tracks to take in the bird kids that had so conspicuously landed in the middle of it all.

"Max!" A large friendly looking man greeted us with open arms. "Hi, Patrick," Max gave him a warm smile. Noting my confusion, Fang ebbed closer to me and clarified quietly, "Patrick works for Max's mom." He greeted everyone with a hug and a warm greeting.

He drew back from Angel, "My gosh! You've grown so much." I envied the way the rest of the Flock had allies, friends even, everywhere. Growing up in lab rooms full of scientists whose only interest in me was the wings sprouting out of my spine never really lead to me making any true friends.

Patrick turned to me, "And you must be the new addition Dr. Martinez was telling me about. She was right, you are quite pretty." I could feel my cheeks grow hot, he let out a hearty laugh. Fang stiffened beside me.

I let out a soft chuckle and smiled. Almost subconsciously, Fang moved directly beside me and wrapped an arm around my waist. I tried my best to ignore tingles that spread throughout my body at his touch. I leaned into him.

"Now, Dr. Martinez told me you guys would be stopping here soon, we have a guest who would like to meet you," Patrick's gaze lingered on Fang and I for a moment before turning back to the others. "Who?" Max asked. Patrick waved a hand nonchalantly, "That can wait, why don't I show you to some tents for you guys?"

Max replied, "Sure." Although the entire Flock exchanged cautious glances, be on alert. We followed Patrick, tucking in our wings to avoid anymore attention.

"Here we are," he stopped in front of two relatively large tents. "The girls can stay in one, the boys in the other." Just as we were about to enter the tent, two young boys went sprinting past us, laughing. They took note of Gazzy and Angel, similar in age to them. "Hey, want play with us?" One asked breathlessly.

Gazzy looked to Max for permission, Max smiled and nodded, "Just don't go anywhere too far." He nodded eagerly, "Okay."

Angel politely declined. "Who were they?" she asked. "The older one is Kota, he's my nephew. The younger boy is named Stefan," Patrick had a sad smile on his face as he explained."He's an orphan, both of his parents were killed by a radical group that invaded their village. We took him in."

A feeling of sadness pooled in my stomach, I never really had parents that I would miss. I assumed losing ones you loved would be even harder.

By the looks on everyone else's faces, I could tell they all were feeling the same surge of sadness for the boy. "Everything has to end eventually ," Angel said morbidly. Fang turned to her, confused. "What?"

"It's true, and sorry to be the one to say it, but either Skylar or Dylan will be the first to die?" Fang's eyes widened, he seemed panicked. "What are you talking about?" "Dylan is dead," I told her, trying to push all of the emotions that came with my words out of my voice.

"No, he's not," she argued. I wanted so desperately to believe he wasn't, but I had come to terms with his death a long time ago. Now, it seemed like Angel was just doing this to hurt me. Trying to convince her I replied, "Angel, he's dead." Fang intervened.

"How do you even know that?" Angel had a condescending look on her face as she stated matter of factly, "Nothing ever stays the same. People grow old and die and wither. And I just know either Dylan or Skylar will die first."

I didn't see why Fang was worried, Dylan had already died first. There was no changing that. I did my best to stay calm, currently I had a fragile mask of sanity covering my tears. If I had to talk about Dylan again I was sure I was going to cry, and I most definitely was done crying given the past few days.

Fang's face looked contorted with pain for a brief second then it was forced back into neutrality. I gripped his hand in mine, "It's fine." He turned to look at me, "She said you were going to die. That's fine?" I opened my mouth to retort but two looming figures were approaching a nearby fire.

"We can do this later," Patrick added. "For now, I have two people I want you to meet." The people were mere silhouettes next to the bright flames of the fire. I could just barely make out one's short, pudgy frame and the other's tall, muscular build.

Patrick lead us to them. Up closer I could make out their faces. When the fire illuminated the tall one's face, I gasped. "Skylar?" He asked. I could feel my lip wobbling. I drew in a shuddering breath, "Dylan?" Before I knew what I was doing, I launched myself into his arms.

He held me tightly to him. "I thought you were dead," he whispered into my hair. He had aged, of course. His jaw was much more pronounced, he had grown about two and a half feet since I last saw him, he was much more muscular and his sandy blonde hair was messy, but I still recognized him. His turquoise eyes were the same.

"I thought you were dead too," my voice was muffled into his shirt. Hugging him was like returning home for the first time, hugging him was like embracing your family. I broke down into tears.

Seeing him was like healing a wound then creating another injury. Knowing he wasn't dead healed the part of me that I always felt was broken without him. But seeing him again lead to a flood of memories of before I thought he was dead.

Someone beside us cleared their throat, "Dylan." He reluctantly pulled away, narrowing his eyes. "Who's this," the pudgy man asked, accusingly. Dylan answered calmly, his voice was deeper, "This is Skylar. We were at the School together, she was like my sister. Then I was told she was dead."

The man looked me over, "I'm sorry to break up your little reunion, but we did come here with a purpose." "I think the purpose can wait-" Dylan was cut off by a stern glare. He fell silent. "Thank you."

He addressed the rest of the Flock, "I'm Dr. Guntherhagan, and as I'm sure you've guessed, this is Dylan." "So Dylan," Fang began. "Where did you come from?" "A test tube," Dylan answered simply. Fang seemed to be turning whatever this was into an interrogation, "But I thought you were experimented on with Skylar?"

"I was," he explained. "But the scientists wanted to see which one of us did better, a natural born person, or a person who was scientifically grown." "And how old were you when you met Skylar?" Fang's question was accompanied with a sharp tone.

"Eight. I'm sorry, I didn't catch your name," Dylan refused to back down from Fang's hard glare. "Fang," I answered for him. "He's my…" I wasn't quite sure how to phrase it. "Boyfriend," Fang finished for me. "I'm her boyfriend."

Dylan raised his eyebrows but made no commentary. I realized something, if Dylan was alive, then Angel was right. I didn't think I could take Dylan dying, again, but what would become of me. It was at that moment Gazzy came running up to the Flock. "So," he said casually. "What did I miss?"


	17. Chapter 17: Thoughts and Therapy

**Author's Note: Hi guys! I want to say thank you to everyone who's followed, favorited, and reviewed, I really do look forward to reading your reviews all the time. So here's another chapter, I hope you enjoy. XOXO- Skai.**

No one really knew how to explain what had happened in the past twenty minutes, I think we didn't even know what happened ourselves. Truthfully, I didn't care about what had happened. Dylan was alive, and that was what mattered.

After several mumbled and confusing responses to his question, Gazzy shrugged and turned to Dr. Guntherhagan.

"Who are you?" He asked in the blunt way only young children could manage. "I'm Dr. Guntherhagan, now if you'll excuse me, I was trying to get to a point about-." Gazzy interrupted with a puzzled expression, "Dr. Guntherha... what?!"

The doctor pinched the bridge of his nose and sighed. "Dr. Guntherhagan, as I was saying, there is one key thing I've yet to mention."

The tone of his voice implicated bad news, the kind of bad news that Dylan was actually dead and this was a clone, or the worse scenarios that my imagination played out in detail. The color washed out of my face. Noticing, Dr. Guntherhagan chuckled, "No, no, don't get that look. Nobody has died yet." I didn't find that very comforting.

"In fact what I have to say is fairly good news, depending on the way you take it. You see, Dylan is Max's perfect other half." Max, who had been taking a long drink out of a water bottle, sprayed her drink everywhere. "My what?"

Dylan wiped the liquid off his cheek, "I'll pretend not to be offended." I was gaping at him, how could he be so casual about the fact that he was somebody's perfect other half. Somebody's destined soulmate. It didn't seem like an affair to be casual about.

"He's your equal and match in every way," Guntherhagan explained. "This is a good thing, is it not?" The man looked genuinely confused, I would've felt pity for him in another circumstance.

"No," Max said determinedly. "This is not a good thing. My life, my decision," she continued, "and my soulmate or whatever other cheesy crap you want to call him. You don't get to decide for me."

Gazzy and Iggy seemed to have not fully comprehended the situation, but Angel had such a serene expression on her face like she was a therapist. "Honestly, Max, is having someone perfect for you such a bad thing?" It seemed as if therapy was in session, Max the unwilling client, and the Flock the witnesses forced to watch.

Nudge was bubbling with words she had yet to say, but Fang was calm as ever. His face was unreadable.

Angel gave Nudge a scathing look, as if to convey "don't say a word." "Yes, it is bad. It's horrible even. Because I don't even know the guy," Max argued. Dylan looked extremely uncomfortable. Angel fired back, "Then get to know him."

Max's face was flushed. "Like I said, It's my decision!" Fang intervened, "Max doesn't have to do anything she doesn't want to."

Dr. Guntherhagan had a terrified look on his face, as if his world were crumbling before his very eyes. "Why don't we all get some sleep, and broach the topic with fresh eyes in the morning?" He suggested. Max didn't deign him with an answer, she spun on her heel and left. Iggy went after her with a concerned look.

Dylan hunched his shoulders, as if trying to disappear from his spot, curling inwards until his body became a black hole he could be sucked into. His hands were jammed into his pockets and I was able to get a good look at him.

He had sandy blonde hair, bleached gold in the sun, turquoise eyes, and a build to rival any male model. He was attractive, but I wasn't attracted to him. It would have been like loving my brother.

Fang stood behind me, I could feel him watching my every move. It wasn't the kind of watching I usually got from him though, this kind was not full of love and adoration. It was full of assessment and analyzing. He was watching me to see how I felt about Dylan. It was as if I was feeling walls go up around him. Only I couldn't tell if it made him untouchable or me untouchable for the time being.

His gaze set me on edge, I could feel the fire pulsing in my veins. It burned slightly, as if singeing me from the inside out. The pain was bearable until it reached my forearms. I hissed and stumbled back, bracing my arms against my middle.

Fang's eyes widened before he started toward me. "Are you okay?" I didn't have time to answer. I could feel the heat like a living force inside me, begging to be released. I tried to bring my ice towards my hands, it worked, but it wasn't painless.

I grit my teeth and sank to the ground. The fire seemed to retreat, but it was in such a way that the cat slinks back into the night. You await it's next return and find a way that it won't kill you at a vulnerable time.

"What's wrong?" Concern and hints of fear colored his face as he placed his palm along the ridges of my spine. He bit back a yowl leapt away from me, shaking his hand. "It's the fire," I felt ashamed that I had hurt him, yet again.

Unlike the ice, which depended on me thinking clearly and being level-headed to work, the fire came forth every time I felt an emotion just a little bit too intense. I was surprised the self-loathing I felt at that moment didn't awaken it again.

I hated hurting people, I hated being the cause to someone's pain. I had been dealt too many hands of pain before to ever want another to go through the same.

Slowly, I felt my body cool down. I sensed Fang as he moved to me once more but this time he gathered me to him without fear. "I'm sorry," I mumbled. I was content enough with Fang that I almost forgot Dylan and the doctor were watching. I pulled away to see Dylan gaping at me.

"Fire?" He asked very quietly. "Fire?" His voice rose. I nodded. "What did they do to you?" I winced at the way it sounded like an accusation. "It's not just ice, but now fire?" "Yes," I tried to keep my voice, to not portray the pain I felt at that moment.

Then I realized his accusation wasn't directed at me, or the School, it was directed at himself. "I'm so sorry." I hated that the first time I saw him in years had to revolve around the things it did.

"It's not your fault," I told him. "A girl named A-, a girl gave it to me as she was dying." I didn't want to say her name, not yet. Though I hadn't known her for very long, I was reminded of her absence with every scathing surge of power I felt. I wished she hadn't died. More than anything.

"Why?" I had been asking myself the same question since she did it. The best answer I could give was, "I don't know." Dr. Guntherhagan looked enamored at the sight of me. "Fire and ice? Both. I have to run some tests. DNA, hair, blood-." "No," Fang said sternly. "She's not a science experiment for you to ogle at. She's a person, one that you won't take advantage of."

I felt a strong surge of affection for Fang in that moment. "Now if you'll excuse us," Fang grasped my hand and lifted it up for show. "We're leaving." Dylan rushed toward me, "Can I talk to you later?"

As much as I loved Dylan, discovering he was alive took a lot out of me. I was unsure and confused and I needed a bit of time. "Can we talk in the morning?" He seemed a bit disappointed but he understood. "Sure."

 **Max's POV:**

I couldn't think. Everything was just a big jumble of tangled and incoherent thoughts floating around in my head. I found myself an abnormally large rock to perch on as I tried to make sense of everything.

Some rustling behind me made me spin around. It was Iggy, "Hey." "Hey." I turned back around, looking up at the night sky. The darkness had turned a somewhat lighter indigo, it was in the early hours of the morning. The moon was a small crescent hanging in the sky. It gave me something to focus on when I felt like I couldn't.

Iggy joined me on the rock. We didn't speak, but he was there. His warmth rolled into my side comfortably. It was the sort of silence that you didn't feel the need to fill with words, it was just already full.

I glanced at Iggy. The fine planes and angles of his face were darkened but still just as sharp and precise as ever. He had delicate cheekbones that were slightly feminine, but his broad shoulders made him seem anything but. He had blue eyes that were misted with blindness and strawberry blonde hair.

I felt like he had grown up a bit in the past few months, he'd changed. But then again, hadn't we all? When Patrick mentioned Angel getting bigger, it had struck me stupid just how big she'd gotten. She had now reached a height of 5 feet 2 inches and her face had thinned out.

It seemed Iike everything was changing too fast. First the Flock was growing up, just when Skylar had seemed to fully integrate into the group, Angel predicted she might die, and Dylan showed up. My supposed other half.

I realized it wasn't that I couldn't think, I didn't want to. I sighed and leaned into Iggy. Resting my head on his shoulder, I felt safe.

 **Skylar's POV:**

The Flock had dispersed gradually so it was only Fang and I walking back to our tents. His hand was warm in mine. I liked him, a lot. More than I would care to admit. It was a great feeling, but it scared me. The feeling itself was part of it, but it was more so the fact that it could be taken away from me in a moment's notice.

When we entered the tent, I struck with the fact that I had no idea what to do then. Luckily, it didn't take long for Fang long to speak his mind. "Do you love Dylan?" This had been why he was analyzing me, he was uncertain.

"Yes," he grimaced. "Like a brother," I finished. He ran a hand through his shaggy, jet black hair. "You're positive?" I didn't hesitate in answer, "Positive."

He seemed a bit relieved and I felt his walls come down, but tension remained in his frame. "Angel said you were going to die." There was the awful truth I had been trying to ignore and sort through at the same time. "We all die."

"But she doesn't predict the rest of the Flock's death, and she said you would be the first to die." "You don't know what that means, none of us do. It could just mean I'll die of old age before the rest of you." "Or it might be Dylan who's the one who dies." Another thing I was trying to pretend didn't exist, wasn't predicted, and wasn't real. My imagination got the best of me.

Fang's voice was nearly a whisper as he said, "I can't lose you." "You won't," I assured him, I didn't want to leave or die. I didn't want to lose him as well. "I won't let it happen," he seemed to be convincing himself.

He then closed the distance between us and planted his lips firmly on my mouth. His hands ran up and down my arms, as if confirming I was real. I kissed him back passionately. All thoughts flew out of my head.

I was consumed with Fang and only him. It was a nice feeling, it was an amazing feeling. It was Fang.

It was difficult when we finally pulled away, to stop. I didn't want to.

 **Author's Note: Here's a bit of a long chapter for you guys. Hope you enjoyed! Please review, follow and favorite. Thanks. XOXO- Skai.**


	18. Chapter 18: Freedom is Choice

The next morning, I found myself jolted awake by a nightmare. This time it was Dylan, only when I went to hug him, he wasn't Dylan. Grotesquely ripping off his flesh and skin, a blood drenched eraser stood before me. "What, Skylar?" He asked with a smile. "Do you not love me?"

He lunged for my throat as I bolted upright in my sleeping bag. Max, Angel, and Nudge were sleeping soundly at my side. I couldn't stay in the tent any longer, haunted by the images of my dream. Not wanting to wake anyone, I tip-toed around them. Exiting the tent, I saw a silhouette in the distance, blackened by the vibrant horizon. I flew to him.

Dylan glanced up at me and smiled. His face was illuminated by the soft golden light of the morning. "Nightmare?" "How did you know?" I asked.

He looked away. "Because," he replied softly. "I get them too." The sun was just rising and the sky bled color's across the clouds. Africa was surprisingly a calm place. I was expecting the howling of monkeys and wild zebra to be running around.

Instead it was just the calming sway of the tall grasses in the morning breeze and the silent buzzing of the insects in the area.

I looked at Dylan, staring at the planes of his face. "I missed you," I told him forwardly. I didn't know if it was the fright of my dream or just having him here with me, but I felt like I needed to say it. "Everyday. I thought about you everyday and how it should've been me that died. I was supposed to anyways, you were supposed to live."

He looked confused, "What do you mean you were supposed to die?" "A nurse told me, before we went in for surgery. I was expected to die because I was supposedly the weaker one." "That's ridiculous!" Dylan snapped. "You were always stronger."

I smiled, "Not really." "Yes, really. You never once shed a tear except for the day they brought you in and your family had sold you. You never let them get to you." Dylan gripped my hand tightly in his. I hung my head. "That was before I thought you were dead." And that was the truth. I guess I had been strong before Dylan's death. B

But after he had died, I lost it. I wouldn't eat or drink, I rarely slept, and I never went through with any tests the scientists wanted to run on me. I wasn't dead, but I wasn't living. That was until they told me that they had a way to bring him back, if I did as was told. I did everything they asked, allowed myself to be probed and studied like animal just so I could see Dylan.

"So… Fang." He was trying to change the topic, but he only steered us into awkward territory. "What about him?" I tried to sound casual. "Does he love you?" "I don't know," I had the feeling Fang loved me, but he had never said it. "Let me rephrase," Dylan's face was lit with a grin. "Do you love him."

Yes, I did. My cheeks heated as I blushed. I didn't answer. "Tell me." I looked at the ground, not meeting Dylan's gaze. Dylan's grin widened, "You do." He could read me like I was an open book when in fact I was the opposite. That's how we had always been. He was the sun and I was the moon. One of us was glowing golden with life, while the other glowed but always kept a part hidden. I was guarded, but Dylan always knocked down those walls.

We both just stood there in comfortable silence with each other for a long time until we heard angry footsteps behind us. Max stalked to us with her arms folded over her chest and a scowl on her face. It had slipped my mind until then that Dylan was supposed to be meant for Max. And she didn't seem to happy to talk to him, let alone love him.

Dylan's lips parted as if he were about to say something but no sounds escaped him. "Breakfast is ready," Max announced before spinning on her heel and walking away, never once looking back.

I understood why Max was upset, truly I did. But one thing she did need to acknowledge was that it wasn't Dylan's fault. Her anger shouldn't have been directed towards him but it was. Because even though he wasn't what was angering her, he was the face to what was.

Dylan's face fell a bit. "Hey," I smiled at him. "I'll talk to her if you'd like." "You don't have to do that," he said, but his face still upturned with hope. "I will. Now come on, let's go get breakfast."

Everyone was already seated around yet another campfire, sitting on rocks and lawn chairs with plates piled high. I took a seat next to Fang who handed me a plate of food. "Thanks," he gave me a slight grin and continued to speak with one of the scientists next to him.

They were discussing something about bone density that I didn't feel like talking about. I had heard enough conversations about my anatomy and biology that I didn't need a recap.

The Flock chatted quietly while inhaling the food placed before them, but Max sat in silence. She glowered at Dr. Guntherhagan with intensity, her eyes flicking to Dylan to give him a glare every so often. Yes, I would most definitely need to talk to her.

Halfway through the meal, she stood up and left. I followed even as Fang gave me a confused look. I found her in the tent, gathering up food and our belongings into backpacks. She didn't glance up at me as she said, "We're leaving."

"No." She turned to look at me for the first time and her eyebrows raised with a challenge. "Yes, we will. You don't have to come, you can stay with your cozy little lab rat, but the Flock is leaving." My stomach flipped at the thought of not being apart of the Flock.

"Max," I blew puffs of air through my cheeks in exasperation. "Give Dylan a chance. It's not like he decided that he would be made for you. You don't even have to date him, but just be nice to him. Your acceptance means everything to him."

Max's hard gaze faltered, "That's his problem." "He's like us, he has wings. He might even be able to help us." "You don't understand," she waved her hand to dismiss me. "Then help me understand," I knew she wasn't mad at me directly, but her resentment at the moment still stung.

"I-I, look, every part of my life had been planned. My body, my wings, my personality, everything was designed down to the last detail, by scientists and the School. So when we escaped, I don't know, I guess I decided I never wanted anybody to choose for me. Being free doesn't mean not being locked in a cage, being free means choice," she continued. "And once that choice is taken away, we're never really free."

I understood freedom well for someone who'd hardly ever experienced it. But those who had lacked it in their pasts often understood it the best. I realized Max feared the very thing I did, a lack of control. On who we were, on who we were to be, where we were, and who we were supposed to love.

I nodded, "Just try to give him a shot. You don't have to do anything if you decide you don't want to. But, don't decide just yet."

 **Author's Note: Hi guys! So I'm sorry this chapter is a little late, I've been really busy. But I have been a little stumped on where I want the story to go, so if you have any story ideas, please let me know. I truthfully would love the help. Don't forget, please review, follow and favorite. Thanks. XOXO- Skai**


	19. Chapter 19: Breaking and Broken

**Skylar's POV:**

After exiting the tent, Max and I walked over to where everyone was sitting. At least this time, Max didn't have a scowl of contempt every time she glanced at Dylan. Dr. Guntherhagan cleared his throat as we sat down. "I was wondering if you guys could do me a favor," he addressed the Flock.

The Flock shared a wary look of caution. "It's nothing bad," the doctor reassured us. "I was just going to ask if you could teach Dylan how to fly." I almost spit out the water I had been drinking. I choked on the water that remained stuck in my throat. Fang was smothering a laugh as he patted my back. When I was no longer coughing, I turned to Dylan, "You can't fly?!"

"They never taught me," Dylan explained with a shrug. Emotions flickered over Max's face as if she were have an internal debate, with her voice I realized, she might have been. Iggy was watching her carefully as she spoke, "I guess we could teach him how to fly." Dr. Guntherhagan clapped his hands, "Wonderful!"

His enthusiasm revealed a bit of his true motives, to get Max and Dylan to spend time with each other. "Sure, just let the Flock go back to our tents really fast, you know, to figure out how to teach him," Max replied casually. I knew she was lying, but I followed her anyway. Once we were out of view of Dylan and the doctor, Max announced, "We're all leaving, right now."

My eyes widened and Fang turned to me with unease. I stuttered, "But- but we can't leave him." "You might not be able to, but we can," Max retorted coldly. "Max!" Angel jumped to my defense. "He's pretty much the only family she has left. Or at least they think of each other as family." "Not my problem," all emotion seemed to have left Max in the face of one thing, fear.

"Max," Fang said. His eyes were almost pleading, for what I wasn't sure. "No." Her voice was hard and unrelenting. "Stay or leave, up to you, Skylar." My head was spinning. If I stayed with Dylan, I got to do just that, stay with Dylan. But I would also lose the Flock, I would lose Fang. If I left, I would lose Dylan.

"I-I," I didn't know what to do. "I'll… Stay. I'll stay." It was almost as if I could feel my heart shattering in that moment. I looked at Fang, feeling tears gather in my eyes. He looked at me for all of a second before turning away from me. "Fang?" I didn't what I was asking, but I still asked. When he met my gaze, his face was hard and closed off, "What?" "I'm sorry," I whispered, and ran. I ran away, as fast as I could. I needed to get away before the tears and sobs began.

No, you don't get the luxury to cry, I told myself. It was your decision, now live with it. I found myself in Dylan's arms, he held me tightly because he knew what had just happened. Fang hated me, the thought was like poison, and Dylan didn't. Dylan was all I had left.

 _ **Max's POV:**_

Our home was spacious, surrounded by the mountains and trees. Colorado. It was a surprise I had planned before everything got complicated.

Fang hadn't spoken a word to me, he hadn't spoken a word to anyone. It was my fault, I knew that, it was my fault. I felt horrible, I had seen Skylar break. Her face lost all of it's life, she had clenched her jaw to keep from crying, and her eyes held so much sadness I felt it too.

Nudge had cried a few tears, despite her efforts. Angel hadn't revealed any feelings, but by the way I saw Gazzy trying to comfort her, I knew she was more hurt than she let on.

Iggy simply had my back, he never questioned my decision, he never argued it. It wasn't a matter of Skylar for him, it was a matter of me. And I knew without a doubt he would always have my back.

Everyone went wordlessly to their rooms, no one fawning over the home and exclaiming how much they loved it. Because they loved Skylar, I hadn't realized it until then. Only at that moment, it was painfully obvious.

 **Fang's POV:**

I went wordlessly to my room and sat down on the bed. I didn't yell, I didn't weep, I didn't do anything. I had admitted to myself that I had loved Skylar, maybe if I had admitted it to her, she would have stayed. Or maybe she wouldn't have.

I wanted to think of Skylar as a traitor, it would certainly make everything easier. But I couldn't. Sighing, I leaned back against the wall. How did everything happen? How did we manage to save a girl from the School just to have her become part of the Flock? No one became apart of the Flock, except the Flock.

But it had happened, and I had loved her. Now, I just wished that she was there, with me. Only she wasn't. She was in Africa.

 **Author's Note: Hi guys! Here's another chapter, I hope you liked it.** **If you have any thoughts or opinions you'd like to share, please leave me a review.** **Thank you sooo much to PhoenixGriffiths for the great story ideas, I will definitely be using a few of them! XOXO- Skai.**


	20. Chapter 20: Phone Calls and Panics

**Max's POV:**

I couldn't allow the Flock to sit around and do nothing but mull over the day's events. No, I needed a plan, the Flock needed some sort of action to remind them that maybe home wasn't such a bad thing.

I called a Flock meeting. "Okay," I tried my best to keep my voice cheerful and upbeat. "I've made a decision, we all need to learn more." There was a collective groan. "Oh, come on, we'll learn more about the world and about anything we'd ever need to know about. It'll be like homeschooling." No one argued, but no one seemed to be a fan of the idea.

The next few weeks passed in a blur of museums, field trips to historical sights, and hours spent searching the Internet and reading. While Fang had yet to go back the Fang I once knew, things were beginning to normalize and the Flock was falling into a routine.

That was until Angel suddenly jumped up from her seat on the couch. The Flock was gathered around a TV, watching some sort of documentary. Her eyes misted over a bit as she stared off into nothingness. "Angel," I waved a hand in front of her face. "Angel!" No response.

Gazzy was prepared to tackle her when she slowly began to blink and take in her surroundings. Her voice was calm, but fear showed in her eyes. "Fang, grab the phone." Fang quickly jogged to the kitchen and picked up a burner phone we had bought for emergencies. "Okay, now what?" Fang asked. "Dial this number."

 **3 Hours Earlier, Skylar's POV:**

Stepping off the plane into the sunlight was a wonderful feeling. My hands were aching with ice and fire. I stretched my wings, flames flickered at my palms. Dylan was watching me carefully, although I didn't notice Dr. Guntherhagan's eager stare at the display my powers. I had tried my best to hide them, or at least not draw too much attention to them.

"Come this way," the doctor ushered us into a car parked along the runway. I ignored how familiar this was to when the Flock and I flew to Argentina. Only now I was with Dylan, in Alaska. Reluctantly, I got in the car. I wasn't thrilled with the thought of getting into another small enclosed space, but I could endure.

We drove for almost two hours straight, which was nothing compared to the flight from Germany to Alaska. In the few months I had left the Flock, I had seen more of the world than I ever had in the past. Tokyo, Paris, Sydney, Shanghai, Seoul, Budapest, Rome and too many other places that I couldn't remember the names of. I had Polaroid photos of all of the places tucked away in the backpack sitting on my lap. My train of thought was halted when I saw where we were driving to.

Ahead of us, a large building towered with hardly any windows and no cars parked in front of it. "Doctor," Dylan apprehension was audible in his voice. "Where are we going?" Chills ran down my spine as I realized the answer, "A School."

"Skylar, Dylan," Guntherhagan began slowly. "Skylar has powers, very rare powers that could benefit all of mankind. Do you know the progress we could make with just a few more samples of DNA?" "No," Dylan stated. "You can't do this." Rain began to patter on the windows of our SUV.

I unbuckled my seatbelt, and grabbed for the doctor. "Let us go!" I fumbled for power over the steering wheel. "Skylar," I didn't pay attention to Dylan. "Skylar!" Before I knew what was happening, the car was swerving off the side of the road, down towards a forest of trees. "Skylar," Dylan yanked me back into him. I heard the airbags in the front inflate and heard a painful crash as the car flipped. Dylan clutched me to him as we collided with a large tree trunk. Unhooking his seatbelt, Dylan and I dropped onto the ceiling of the car, which was currently dented and resting against the ground. No movement came from the front of the car, I assumed Dr. Guntherhagan was dead.

"Come on," Dylan yanked on the car door until it busted open. He crawled on his stomach until he was lying on the forest floor, I followed suit. The ground was wet with rain and I felt a shiver run through me. "You're bleeding," he reached up and touched my temple. A sharp stinging sensation struck me and his fingers came away bloody. I glanced over him, looking for any injuries, he was fine.

"We'll worry about that later," I told him. "We have to go, if that was a School, then eraser's will be after us in minutes." Dylan helped me off the ground and unfurled his wings. "No, we can't fly above the trees or else they'll see us," I warned. A dizzy spell made me sway on my feet. I had forgotten how much head wounds bleed.

"Are you sure you're-?" I interrupted him, "I'm fine." Launching off the ground, we flew around the trees, several branches scraping my wings and legs.

The trees only provided cover for seconds, before we knew it, we were faced with a large open expanse of field. Luckily, far off in the distance, I saw the tall buildings of a city. "Come on!" I grabbed his hand and we soared quickly to the urban landscape, cities were good for blending in.

Landing on the outskirts of the city, we tucked in our wings and I pulled two sweatshirts out of my backpack. I yanked up my hood so no one would notice the blood running down my face. I let my long silver hair out of it's tight bun and pulled over my shoulders so only half of my face was visible. By that time, the rain was coming down hard enough I was completely drenched. I leaned into Dylan's side for support, I was growing dizzy. I didn't know how long I had before I collapsed.

Dylan dragged me down roads until I didn't know where we were, and hopefully no one else would. We were passing by a line of pay phones when one rang. I didn't know if it was the blood loss or a lack of judgement but I pulled Dylan with me towards the phone and answered it.

Weakly I said, "Hello?" "What are you doing?" Dylan mouthed. I didn't have an answer for him. "Skylar?" A familiar voice sounded over the line. "Fang?" It couldn't have been. It was. "Skylar is that you?"

I gulped, "Yeah, it's me. His voice was low and confused, "Are you okay? You sound bad."

Dylan had been leaning over me, listening to the conversation. Snatching the phone from my hand he responded, "Guntherhagan tried to take us to a School. He wanted to study Skylar's powers."

"He what?" Fang's voice sounded of thinly controlled rage, although maybe that was my imagination playing tricks on me. "You heard me," Dylan snapped, he was exasperated but with what I didn't know. "But Skylar crashed the car into a tree and we flipped over. I think the doctor's dead. But Skylar hit her head, it's bleeding, she keeps almost falling over. Eraser's might be after us, we're not sure."

Fang inhaled deeply, "Where are you?" "Like I'm telling you that on an open line, where anyone could be listening," scoffed Dylan. "Then why have you told me all of that as well?" Fang asked, suspicion coloring his tone. "I-I," Dylan didn't have an answer. Sighing, he gave Fang the address and hung up the phone.

Dylan pulled me to him and we walked into the nearest building, a hotel. Keeping me behind him, he approached the front desk. I may have looked awful, with bloody scratches marking my legs and black leggings torn. But Dylan was as charming as ever, flashing the hotel employee a smile, he was handed a room key.

I was out of it by the time we reached our room. I could feel myself being carried then sat down on a table. My backpack was slid off my shoulders and I could hear Dylan rummaging through it. He tossed back my hood and tucked my hair, sticky with blood behind my ear.

Suddenly, I felt something cold pressed against my cut and an excruciating pain shoot through my head. I tried to jerk away but Dylan held my head in place. "Stop moving," he told me through gritted teeth. I did as was told.

Trying to focus on something else, I managed to ask, "Why did you tell Fang where we were? Why did you tell him everything?"

Dylan sounded hurt as he replied, "Because you haven't been happy without him. I can tell, you get this far off look when you think about him." "I don't think-," I argued but he cut me off. "You do, and you look like this horrible mix between sad and happy when you do."

I closed my eyes, I didn't want to face Dylan anymore. "You loved him, you still do. Yet you stayed with me, even if that meant your own happiness," I hated the way Dyan spoke about it. Like I was some selfless hero, I wasn't. I was selfish and I was weak. I thought I had hid it so well, my sadness. Instead all I had done was made Dylan feel guilty.

"I was still happy with you," I said, as if it made everything okay. "Maybe, but you aren't fully happy, not like you are with him. I saw you with him for all of less than a day, and I knew that you loved him and you were happy with him. Did you ever tell him that?" He asked. I had no answer.

Dylan worked in silence for a while, "I did as best as I could, but the first aid kit in your backpack was very limited. Although the bleeding's stopped a lot."

"Thanks," I smiled at him. He looked up at me, "Get to bed." I slipped into one of the two queen sized beds, not taking off my shoes and clothes, and closed my eyes. For once, I didn't have dreams of Fang.

XxXxX

I woke to a large crashing sound outside my window. Dylan was already up, the fear in his eyes told me what it was, Eraser's. He opened the window and punched out the screen. Outside it was still dark and the night sky was covered with rain-dripping clouds. Grabbing my hand, Dylan jumped out the window, taking me with him. We unfurled our wings before hitting the ground of the alleyway below us. Landing, we took wary glances around us. Eraser's surrounded us.

"Sure," I muttered to Dylan. "Let's jump out the window. Great idea!" I lamented sarcastically. He didn't laugh, and as I took a glance at the eraser's around us, I understood why. One of them had a gun, and it was pointed at Dylan. I screeched, "No!" Before jumping in front of him.

At first there was nothing, then there was a blinding pain in my side. I collapsed to the ground. I was vaguely aware of fighting sounds around me as Dylan stood defensively over me.

My breaths were coming out shallow and my vision began to grow blurry and black spots began to cloud my sight. Dylan nudged me towards a brick wall with his foot and I leaned against the cold, hard surface. I heard the sweeping of wings.

There was more sounds of fighting and grunts of pain. I could feel my head loll to the side. A hazy image of Fang stood before me. "Skylar?!" Everything went black.

 **Author's Note: Hi guys! I hope you enjoyed that chapter. It really was one of the most fun chapters to write out of all of them. if you have any thoughts please tell me in a review. Thanks. XOXO- Skai.**


	21. Chapter 21: Photographs and Panics

I awakened to two familiar dark eyes watching me. I could feel my body shaking, whether it was from the cold or my dream, I wasn't sure which. The second thing I noticed was an excruciating pain radiating from the side of my stomach. I went to grab my side but warm hands encircled my own before I could.

I glanced up into his face. Fang had purple crescents under his eyes and his hair was messy and unkempt. He looked as if he hadn't slept for days. I was overcome with a waves of guilt, not knowing what else to do, I scrambled away from him until I was pressed against the wall, as far away from him as possible.

Fang's eyes widened as he opened his mouth to say something. Instead, he let his lips fall together once more. I watched as he stilled his face into a mask of neutrality. Fang was hard to read, but I had never noticed because he always let me in. But it was visible now, the way he shut me out. I felt as if my chest was caving in with the pain of it.

"How are you feeling?" He questioned. I wanted to laugh at the absurdity of the question. I had left, I had chosen Dylan over the Flock, then had been stupid enough to get caught and even worse, get shot.

If he had hurt at least half as bad as I had due to my actions, I had caused him more pain than I had ever meant to. I had hurt him, then gotten hurt myself, both mentally and physically. I wanted to believe more than anything that he still cared, that his question was sincere. Then it hit.

It was like I was dying. My breaths came in shallow puffs, a weight pressed down on my chest with heavy force, and I hated myself for the way it made me feel weak. Wrapping my arms around myself I pressed my face into my legs and curled my hands into fists.

I tried to collect myself, to stop trembling and blink back the tears clinging to my lashes. But it was too late. Tears flowed thickly down my face and I bit my tongue until I tasted blood.

I took deep breaths until I could feel all fear leave my body. I shut my eyes until all I saw was the kaleidoscope of spots and darkness dancing on the inside of my eyelids. After what seemed like an eternity, it stopped. Leaving me exhausted and drained.

It was then I noticed Fang's hands rubbing my back and his soft murmurs. "Are you okay?" Fang repeated. "Fine," I breathed out. It had been a panic attack. They started after I left the Flock, and got worse when I began to fear their occurrences. The anticipation causing one itself. "It's not fine," he snapped.

I didn't want to face him, instead I opted for staring at the floor. "Skylar." I didn't respond. "Skylar. My god! Look at me." I did, expecting to see a hard stare and cold expression. He was open this time though, concern coloring his features. "What was that?" He asked.

Shame flowed through my veins, more powerful than blood and my nails bit into my palms sharply. I didn't want to answer, but I did. "Panic attack," I mumbled quietly.

"You don't get panic attacks," he said sharply before understanding dawned on him. He murmured more to himself than to me, "You do, you just didn't used to." I nodded in response.

My eyes now stung from the tears and I felt as if I had run a marathon. I hated crying, yet I did it all the time, now more so than ever. Maybe it was because of my childhood, when I had never been allowed to cry.

Or maybe it was because after having been so emotionless for years, it was only way I could be under the circumstance, everything felt new and strong and terrifyingly foreign. It was like a dam that had been broken, now everything was flowing outwards at alarming rates.

Finally, it felt like my emotions weren't ruling me. There was nothing to distract me from the throbbing my side. As if noticing this, Fang snatched a bottle of pills off the nightstand. "You might want one of these," he told me.

I eyed the bottle suspiciously, not having had the best experiences with medications in the past. Fang scoffed, "I'm not trying to poison you. They're for the pain."

I had never thought it was Fang, but the way the pills rattle against the container set me on edge. "I didn't…" I trailed off when I realized there was nothing to say. I opened the bottle and swallowed one thickly. I then stared out the window, not knowing what else to do.

I did nothing until I heard Fang rise from his chair to leave. "Don't go." He turned towards me, "Why? You obviously don't want me here," he retorted. "I do," I said, then more strongly, "I do."

"Then talk to me! Don't just sit there and stare at the window. Talk to me," Fang didn't seem mad, but frustrated. "Tell me where've you've been and where all those photos you had were taken, tell me what you've done. Just talk!"

I glanced towards where my backpack sat unzipped in a corner, the photos messily thrown back in the Polaroid tucked into it's compartment. "You went through my photos?" Not accusatory, simply curious. He shamelessly answered, "Yes." Something between a laugh and a scoff escaped me.

"Here," I instructed. "Hand me my bag." The backpack was placed in my lap and Fang took his seat once more. His eyes were wary but he still seemed to want to talk. I dug around the bag until I found the one I wanted. I took out a photo of myself jumping off a large bridge, "First, we went to New Zealand." Fang's lips twitched into a faint smile.

Later:

Fang and I had talked for almost an hour about the places I'd traveled. I'd managed to redirect any conversations about panic attacks, although I had the feeling I wasn't escaping the discussion. Things were light and fun and simple when talking about the happy things but then it seemed as if there was nothing more to say. But there was so much more, just about the things I didn't want to say aloud.

After half an hour, Fang had moved to sit with me on the bed, I rested my head cautiously on his shoulder while talking. When he didn't pull away I felt the thrill of both underlying love and comfort. We sat there in peaceful silence until I spoke what I had been thinking the entire time, "I missed you. I missed you everyday." And it was true, there hadn't been a day that had gone by without Fang drifting into my thoughts and the tides of sadness drenching me.

Fang stilled, I lifted my head, had I said something wrong? Fang didn't reply for a while but pulled me to him once more, "I missed you too. So much more than you'll ever know." I wanted to sag with relief at his words.

My side was pulsing with pain but Fang seemed to make everything bearable, as long as he was there. I'd always thought I'd been able to endure everything life had thrown at me, and maybe that was true. But enduring, that was different than living. For the past few months, I hadn't been living, I had been surviving.

 **Author's Note: Hi guys! Here's another chapter for you all. It took me forever to find the time to write it. I've been so busy with school work, guitar, and othe stuff. I've also been reading Empire of Storms, (haven't finished it yet,) but it's sooooo good and so amazingly long. If you haven't read the Throne of Glass series you most definitely need to. Anyways, don't forget to review because I love to read all of your thoughts and opinions and story ideas. Thanks! XOXO- Skai.**


	22. Chapter 22: Surrender

_Water was everywhere, on my skin, in my eyes, in my lungs. Every time I went to take a breath I choked, every time I tried to move, it seemed as if the water turned to stone and moving an inch was strenuous._

 _There was a pressure building on my chest, begging for air. Fang's voice called out to me, but I couldn't respond. I wanted to speak, but I couldn't open my mouth. His voice grew louder and less distant. But where? Where was he?_

 _I was trapped in place by a force I didn't understand, the water was as solid as glass and I couldn't move to break it. Finally, the volume of his voice seemed to shatter everything._

I sat up in bed, gasping for breath. Fang was in front of me, his hands planted on my shoulders, shaking me. His eyes were wide and his skin was pale, "We have to go! Now!" He grabbed one of my feet and forcefully began to shove them into a pair of combat boots.

"What's going on?" I inquired, panic reaching my voice. He didn't answer me as he began to put on my other shoe. I swatted his hand away. "I can do it," I snapped. "Now tell me what's going on!" He let go of me and finally looked me in the eyes, all I saw was fear.

"The School is here. Eraser's and these robotic things are surrounding the house," his voice was calm and controlled but I had never seen Fang look so scared. "Nudge hacked their earpieces, they're not here for us. Skylar, they're here for you."

I leapt into action, dressing in a pair of leggings and a tshirt as quickly as I could. I paused for a moment before shrugging on the closest jacket I find and began exiting the room.

The Flock was gathered in the living room. All eyes turned to me. "What do we do?" Max asked, looking to Fang. I knew that she could come up with a plan on her own, but she wanted Fang to be the one to decide. He ran his hands through his hair, stressed. "I'm not sure."

Come on, I thought to myself, we need a plan. I paced back and forth, too aware of everyone's heavy gazes. I could only see one way out of this. I drew in a shuddering breath, "I'll hand myself over to them." Choruses of protests began to sound. "Enough!" I had never heard myself be so loud, but if there was a time for it, it was then.

"If it's me they want, they'll leave you guys alone when they get me. They'll probably take me to the closest School, which is the one we just came from. Dylan, you remember where it is right?" Dylan nodded solemnly. Fang interjected, "That's a big if. What if they don't take you to that School?"

"Then I hope you guys are able to find me, but I can't just sit here and lure everyone to their deaths! It's my fault we're in this situation, I'll be the reason you get out."

I took in all of the faces around me, Max, Dylan, Angel, Gazzy, Nudge, and Iggy. Fang. If this was my last time seeing them, I regretted not getting to know some of them better.

Iggy, with his loyalty and utmost trust and compassion for the rest of the Flock, I hardly had had a conversation with him. Gazzy, with his twisted yet hilarious sense of humor, he was just a little boy who loved his sister unconditionally and who had seen too much. I knew a bit more, but not much.

Angel was smart kid, but she was also kind. She loved her family and would do anything for them. Nudge, she had always advocated for me, always trusted me. And I had never been more grateful. She creative and loyal and intelligent and so much more. All of them, all of them loved so much.

Max. There wasn't a lot to say about Max and yet there was. She loved her family so fiercely it took my breath away, always protecting them and always putting them first. I vowed if I ever saw them again, and I hoped I would, I would get to know them all and put in more effort showing them how much they had meant to me. They may not have known it, but they had shown me what family and love was.

I hugged each and every one of them, not wanting to let go. I almost burst into tears when Gazzy didn't let go and wetness coated Nudge's cheeks. When I came to Fang, I was surprised the cracking of my heart wasn't audible. "I'm sorry," I whispered, gazing up at him. "I'm so sorry." I didn't know whether I was apologizing for leaving, coming back, or hurting him. I realized it was all three.

I was startled when Fang drew me to him and kissed me. I melted into him, kissing him back with as much force as I could muster. My body was electrified and everything else faded away into nothingness. I pulled away too soon for my liking, knowing time was of the essence.

Fang held me in place, " _I love you_. I want you to know that I love you and that I will go to the ends of the Earth to find you and bring you back to me. I will _always_ protect you." The tears I was holding back flowed freely and I was breathless. "I love you too," I choked out.

And then I had to pull away. It was as if I was numb and all to aware of my emotions at the same time. I wanted them to rescue me, but not if it meant one of the would get hurt. I knew they would do it anyway.

Because that's what family was, it was what family did. I had left and yet when I said goodbye to them, I still saw the will to fight for me in their faces. It was terrifying and beautiful. I was still crying when I exited the house and raised my hands in surrender.

 **Author's Note: Hi guys! Sorry that chapter was a bit late but I was so tired last night from a stressful week of tests and homework. If you have any story or plot ideas, or any thoughts in general about this chapter, please leave a review. I've been thinking of starting a new fanfic, so if you guys have any TV shows or books, (I've probably read or seen all of them considering how much I read and watch,) let me know. I would love a story idea or something like that. Thanks! XOXO- Skai.**


	23. Chapter 23: Willing Victims

I was trembling and I couldn't seem to focus on anything except the barrels of the guns pointed at me. The terror that flowed in my veins overwhelmed me until I almost didn't see Fang slip silently in place next to me. "You're not doing this alone," he muttered. I went to push him back inside, "Go! Go now!" My voice broke on the last word.

"You have to go," I put my hands on his chest and went to shove him towards the house. He didn't move an inch. "Stop or we'll shoot," the menacing voice came from an eraser.

Slowly, I turned toward the erasers and the robotic machines that were terrifyingly human-like. "Let him go," I spoke every word with caution, not wanting Fang to get hurt or the Eraser to decide to do anything rash. "It's me you want."

He gave me a grin that was more a flash of teeth than a smile, "Another test subject can't hurt." A familiar figure came forward before he spoke, "I agree completely." Jeb, the figure was Jeb.

I wasn't stupid enough to lunge for him right then and there, but I wanted to. I wanted to wrap my hands around his neck before he could ever look at Fang or I again with those beady, hungry eyes. Gazing at us as if we weren't people, but objects. Objects to be manipulated and used.

I took a shuddering breath as Fang moved to stand closer beside me, his hand encompassing mine. He wasn't even slightly scared. I looked up at him, wondering why he could be so calm. Clueless as to how he wasn't phased by this at all; Fang looked as if there was no other place he would be besides here, next to me.

"Please, I'll do anything," I pleaded. " _Anything_. Just let him go." Jeb smiled a sickly sweet smile, "Oh. That's not necessary. I think you'll do anything regardless. You're desperate and you have nothing to bargain with anyways."

"Will you take the others?" Fang's eyes flashed dangerously as he asked the question. "No, not yet, we still have plans for them. Now's not the time." Jeb's words sent another jolt of fear into me but I also couldn't help but feel relieved. They were safe, at least for now.

Jeb raised his hand, I assumed it was a signal for the rest of them to lower their weapons. I was faintly aware of the quiet hissing of a dart before a small, sharp pain pricked my arm. I didn't even glance at it, keeping my eyes trained on Fang. He didn't look away from my gaze as well.

It was as if we were saying nothing and everything at once. I could feel my limbs grow heavy as my vision began to blur into an endless darkness.

 **At the school:**

I awoke to the sickeningly familiar white room. The small white cot. The painted white cement walls. The white marble floor. It was all so familiar. I jumped out of the bed, pressing my back to a wall. I spied a camera hovering in a corner.

I took a breath before screaming, "Let me out! Now!" I pounded the walls, the impacts sending jarring pains into my hands. "Let me out!" The old me wouldn't have struggled. She would've done nothing, knowing it was pointless anyway. They wouldn't let me out, I knew that.

But this time I had something to fight for. The door swung open. "Don't you think you're being a bit dramatic," Jeb sneered from the entry way. I flung myself towards him, aiming to hurt him.

He simply stepped out of the way before I went stumbling into the hallway. I was out. No longer trapped in my room. "You can go anywhere you would like, unless it's a restricted area or you're trying to escape." I eyed him suspiciously, "Why? Why let me out now? I could escape if I wanted to."

"I don't think you'll want to," Jeb sounded so sure of himself I had to ask how. "And how do you know that." Jeb jerked his head to my right, and there stood Fang.

Only he was being restrained by two eraser's, looking unlike himself in all white clothes. "Skylar," his voice was pained. "If you get the chance go. Understand me? Go."

"She won't, because her little boyfriend will get hurt if she does, and we don't want that. Do we, Skylar?" Jeb's smile was teasing, testing, and full of amusement.

Reluctantly I nodded, I apologized once more. It felt like the hundredth time, "I'm sorry. _You_ wouldn't leave me, _I_ won't leave you." Fang's body was limp with helplessness, but I knew he understood. I moved closer to him, expecting to be told off by the eraser's. I wasn't.

I continued forward and my arms wrapped around his waist, his face was buried in the crook of my neck. Jeb ordered, "Let him go." Fang pulled me closer to him. "We'll get out," he whispered. "We will." He pressed his lips softly to my forehead.

"This is sweet and all, but Skylar, you have some Chinese scientists to impress and some testing to endure." Fang shoved me behind me, "No." I felt arms go around me, only this time they weren't gentle and loving. They were hairy and clawed and menacing.

"Don't touch her!" Fang seethed. More eraser's came toward us grabbed him by the neck. I immediately stopped struggling. "Better. Now come on." I watched Fang as I left and followed Jeb.

As I walked away, I couldn't help but wonder why Fang loved me. Why he found me worth it? I felt as if the trouble I was causing wasn't worth it at all. I had taken him away from his family, even if he had gone willingly. But, why? I didn't get the chance to finish my train of thought as I entered a large gymnasium.

The lab wasn't really a lab. Or at least that's how you wouldn't describe it if you ever saw it. It was more like a large arena, with obstacles on the floor and hanging from the ceiling.

Chinese men stood in the corner, they're eyes drinking me in with disgusting thirst and eagerness. It was growing abundantly apparent that no one here thought of me as a person, as a human.

I was just another lab test with too many variables. To many what-ifs and maybes that had to manipulated until I was just another predictable experiment. Fascinating, but controlled.

 **Fang's POV:**

I hated the way Skylar looked as she left. Lifelessness coated every inch of her until she had morphed into another willing victim of Jeb's experiments. I couldn't do anything for her, I couldn't stop them. I had already been forewarned of the consequences if I did.

We were both stuck here, I was stupid, thinking I could help her if I was here. Instead I made us both prisoners. I regretted coming, knowing if I hadn't I would've been outside of the windowless walls of the School, planning how to get her out. It was a bad move, but I would not let her face this place alone.

In a twisted way, being able to see her, being able to know how she's doing, or at least know more than I would if I wasn't here, it made everything worth it. Being here with her made a sort of diluted calmness wash over me. I wasn't able to protect her, not really. But I was still here with her.

I hissed as an eraser dug it's claws into my arm as it jerked me down a hallway until I stood I front of a glass window. Bullet proof and double sided, obviously. On the other side was Skylar, gritting her teeth as she froze a stack of cinder blocks. Her color was draining and she looked exhausted.

They were pushing her as hard as possible without breaking her. She collapsed to the ground but Jeb strided over and said something to her, something that made her force herself to her feet and keep going. I tried to shake off the eraser's strong grip, but it was no use, there were three others right behind us and I could still feel the drug they had injected me with earlier weighing down my limbs.

So instead I was forced to watch Skylar hurt and tire herself until she couldn't do anymore. They may have been avoiding breaking her for her uses and powers, but I was still just another bird kid; there were seven others of us. So they were seeing how much it took to break me.

 **Skylar's POV:**

My vision was growing blurry and my heart was pounding in my chest. I knew I wasn't going to be able to hold out for much longer. Luckily, Jeb stopped me soon after that. Then it was time to melt the frozen blocks of stone in front of me.

I blew out through my cheeks and began to bring flames towards my palms until the fire started to penetrate the ice. There was a loud knock on the double-sided glass beside me, I didn't know who it was. Either way, I didn't stop. Jeb was going to hurt Fang if I did. Jeb eventually said I could stop, that's when I noticed all of the ice melted into a puddle before every. I had been to tired to watch and pay attention.

He clasped my arm painfully and dragged me towards the scientists. He wore a pretentious grin that was a cue for me to smile as well. Mine came off as more of a grimace until I felt his strong fingers tighten and begin to hurt even more. I smiled a broad, white flash of teeth. Jeb nodded: Better.

One of the scientists said something I didn't understand. Another one translated, "He said you are very impressive." Politely I replied, "Thank you." "Can we see your wings more closely?" He asked earnestly. I wanted to shudder at the thought but I obeyed. Opening my wings to their full span.

I could see the way the light glinted off the silver feathers out of the corners of my eyes. I felt a rush of smugness when they gasped. "Yes, Skylar always seems to be a crowd favorite," Jeb remarked kindly. It amazed me every time how he could be so horrible yet seem so nice. I forced a giggle that I knew would evoke a laugh out of the scientists.

The routine was instilled into me, coming as a second nature. Please them, impress them, make them invest in the School. It was what I had done since before eight. Once it was obvious that they were going to invest, Jeb dismissed me.

When I walked out the door, I was greeted by erasers. Only none of them took ahold of me or tried to force me back into my cell called a room. They knew as long as they had Fang, I would be their willing victim. To every experiment, every test, and every examination.

 **Author's Note: Hi guys! I hope you enjoyed that chapter. Let me know in a review your thoughts, opinions, and story ideas. I would love to hear them. (Also, I'm nearing 100 reviews, which means I will host another contest/prize for the 100th reviewer. I let you know more when I reach 90 reviews.) Thanks! XOXO- Skai.**


	24. Chapter 24: Foxx

**Author's Note: Hi guys! Thank you so much for reviewing! Keep it up and we'll be at 100 in no time. So, Subject F200o4xX, A.K.A Foxx is Bookrain's idea, so is many of her descriptions. I absolutely love Foxx and I hope you guys will too! Please let me know if you have any story ideas, thoughts and opinions. I'm not quite sure where I want the story to go, so it would be a huge help. Happy reading, thanks. XOXO- Skai.**

I was wandering aimlessly around the School's darkened hallways. There wasn't much else to do when it was 3:00am and you can't sleep and I wasn't allowed to see Fang unless they specifically told me so.

I ran my hand down the wall beside me as I walked, the cool, smooth surface was nice against my fingertips. Everything was quiet, except for the constant buzzing of lights and technology. Those would always be there.

No erasers or scientists were insight, they were all probably tucked away into their cages and labs. All prisons of some form or fashion, although many of them did deserve it. By that time, my legs had grown tired from hours of walking. I slid down onto the floor, my spine pressed against the wall.

I sat in place serenely for a while. Just breathing and trying not to think. I was drawn out of meditation by soft footsteps. So soft most people wouldn't have noticed them, but heightened bird kid senses tended to do that to you.

I opened an eye and glanced up. Before me stood a young girl. She couldn't have been older than ten, with rust-colored curls and large brown eyes that reminded me of a doe.

She had an angular face that was all shadows and light. A smattering of freckles marked her cheekbones and nose cutely. Her skin was pale, probably from years of never seeing the light of day. Scars, thin and large, delicately drawn and ferociously slashed, covered her skin.

I couldn't help but grin when I saw the fox ears; they were almost hidden by her hair but they were still visible, pointing daintily. A tail swished behind her excitedly and her head was cocked to the side. Animalistic, that's the word I would use to describe her. She wasn't beastly, but she was animalistic in every way.

"Who are you?" She asked curiously. I smiled at her, "I'm Skylar. And you are?" "I'm Foxx, with two X's," Foxx replied. "Okay Foxx with two X's," I began. "How old are you?"

Her eyes narrowed with suspicion, "You first." I answered, true and honest, "I'm probably sixteen by now, almost seventeen." "I'm nine," Foxx told me. "What can you do?" She tilted her head once more in question.

"What do you mean?" I asked. She gave me a pointed look, "Everyone here has something weird about them, what is your weirdness." I laughed, my first real laugh since I'd been at the School.

I stood up and repositioned myself so I could open up my wings. My wings were sore, but I still managed to expand them fully. "Pretty," Foxx remarked plainly. My grin widened, and so did hers.

"I can also do this," I raised both of my palms, a flame flickered above one, and an ice crystal formed on the other. "Show off," she joked with a crooked grin. "Probably not as impressive as fox ears and a tail," I complimented

"Don't forget amazing intelligence, the ability to solve complex puzzles and math most adults can't even begin to comprehend," her voice was quiet, I could tell she wasn't normally very chatty.

"How could I forget that?!" I found myself chuckling once more. She joined me, her laughter sounding like soft barking. Once it died out, we were both silent. Foxx leaned back against one of the walls, examining me and assessing a possible threat.

Suddenly, she kicked off from the wall. Her nose was upturned, I realized she was sniffing. She then slid into the shadows of another corridor silently until I could no longer see her. I was prepared to go after her when I heard two rough voices, so scratchy they sounded more like a growl. Erasers.

It was obvious they were restraining themselves from talking to me, sneering at me. Besides for a menacing glare, they continued on. I realized they were making rounds, searching the place. Only several minutes until after they had gone into another part of the building did Foxx reappear. "Why are they looking for you?" I asked her.

Foxx's gaze shot down to her scars. The image was haunting. The innocent little girl growing up in a place like the School, erasers and scientists poking and prodding at her. Had I ever looked like that? I wondered silently. I got down onto my knees to look her in they eye, she was only about 4 foot 10 inches. My 5 feet 7 inches seemed to dwarf her.

Finally Foxx answered, "The same reason I have these scars." I didn't press or try to get anymore information, despite how much I wanted to know so I could have even more of a valid reason to pick a fight with those erasers. Foxx had gone through enough. I forced a smile that I hoped looked genuine, "They won't ever hurt you again, not while I'm here?"

"Don't," she demanded quickly. "Don't. You'll only get hurt. Nobody needs to get hurt for me." I remained silent before deciding on a response, "I'm going to help you, whether you want me to or not. If they come looking for you, find me. Here, I'll show you where my room is." She looked slightly confused but didn't shy away from me.

I slowly reached for her hand, making sure she was fine with me touching her. She nodded and I gripped her hand as I stood. Quietly, we made our way through the shadows and corridors within the School until we reached my room. "This is it."

"You have a room?" Foxx opened the door after looking back at me for assurance. Of course, Fang had told me when we had talked. In my childhood, I had gotten luxuries and torture. In the Flock's and his, they had gotten cages and neglect. Foxx must've have received the same treatment as them.

She meandered around the room, her hands briefly skimming the bed and the desk and the walls. I watched her closely as she turned to me. "Thank you, no one has ever been this nice to me," Foxx said. I replied, "Of course."

Foxx then began to glance hurriedly around her, "I need to go before the lights come on, I'm not allowed unsupervised when the lights are on." She darted nimbly out the door, easily navigating the labyrinthine hallways.

When I tried to fall asleep, I couldn't. My head was filled with images of young girls enduring trials, surgeries, erasers, and fear. One was familiar, one was new.

 **Morning:**

I awoke only having gotten a few minutes of sleep. Jeb was hovering above me, holding out yet another outfit of white clothes. "Put these on, we have a meeting in fifteen minutes," he instructed before swiftly striding out of the door.

I dressed and brushed my hair and teeth in the vanity sitting in the corner of the room. It had a sink, a toothbrush and hairbrush sat neatly placed on the table portion. Luxuries, the word echoed hollowly in my brain. I knew what I had to do.

I stood in the middle of the room, unmoving. Jeb rushed in. "What are you doing?! We have to go," he ushered. "I'm not going anywhere," I challenged. The thought of Fang set a pang of fear through me but I wasn't going to give in.

A calm reached his eyes, "You do know what you're doing?" I nodded, "I'll go with you and be the perfect little mutant when you give Foxx a room next to mine, identical, maybe with even more in it." He was glancing at his wrist watch as he asked, "Foxx?"

I described her, "Curly brown hair, brown eyes. A fox tail and ears, ring any bells?" I was skating on thin ice, but maybe, just maybe, it would work. "You mean Subject F200o4xX."

"I'm talking about Foxx," I retorted. "A room for her or nothing from me." "We have Fang," he warned. "It's one more room, one more mutant, and it sure would make me so much happier around investors," I supplied. Jeb's face was growing red and impatient, "Foxx can get a room. Got it? Now we have to go."

I couldn't help the grin that spread over my face. "Deal." I went through the meetings and tests with more effort, more determination.

The investors were more than impressed before they pledged their money to the School. I was helping the School and just the thought of it was sickening. But I was also helping Fang, and Foxx.

When I was taken into the lunch hall, I saw Fang. I had looked for him but he was never there, this time he was. Our eyes met and I couldn't bring myself to look away.

When I finally did, I looked up at Jeb, who was standing next to me. His eyes were still shining with joy at the amount of money I had earned. He nodded, not even truly considering my request. I rose from my seat and jogged to Fang.

I hugged him, tightly, and he returned the favor. His arms were wrapped strongly around my torso as I whispered to him, "There's a little girl named Foxx. She's moving into a room next to mine. Can we take her with us if we ever get out?"

"We will get out," he murmured into my neck. "And we'll help her when we do." I sighed with relief and tried to memorize Fang, not knowing when I would be able to see him next. The way his arms held me and his dark eyes glinted in the light.

 **Author's Note: So about the little prize for the 100th reviewer, I'm just doing a little thing where the 100th reviewer can give me a plot idea, can write a paragraph or a bit more for the next chapter, or can create an OC which has to be a sibling of Foxx's but they don't have to look similiar or anything like that,) for the story. The rules are, no lemons, it has to make sense with the rest of the story, and has be to appropriate for a few of the younger readers, no cursing. Then let me start off by saying, thank you all so much for reviewing and following and favoriting. It is seriously the most amazing feeling for me when I get to read your reviews. I love getting story ideas from you and hearing about all your opinions and thoughts. Also, please don't wait until you're the 100th reviewer, that defies the whole point and I'll do another little prize for every 50th review. Happy reading! Thanks. XOXO- Skai.**


	25. Chapter 25: You Knew!

I laid on my bed for a long time. Not thinking, not speaking, not doing anything. I just stared at the white ceiling and wished for things that I knew would never happen.

The door swung open, "Thank you!" Foxx came bounding in, her tailing swishing excitedly behind her and her ears were perked with happiness.

I sat up and smiled, "You're welcome." Before I knew what was happening, I found myself engulfed in a hug. Her small arms wound around with a surprising amount of strength.

"No one's ever done anything that nice for me," her grin never flinched. She didn't even notice the amount of pain her words caused me because she, and so many others had endured the exact same or worse treatment as I had.

"Of course," I responded. "You better get to bed soon, it's almost ten." Foxx frowned playfully but agreed and left after talking to me for a bit.

I sighed when I realized I wasn't going to fall asleep. The floor was cold as my bare feet carried me to the door. I surveyed the room once more before exiting, no, I couldn't sleep in there.

I slipped silently through the corridors, following the path I had taken every night prior. I just wanted to go somewhere where I wasn't surrounded by colorless es and nothingness and treachery. I wanted to somewhere that felt like home, I just wasn't sure where that was.

When I came to the same dead end I always did, I halted. Staring at the blank wall and pretending it was the stars or it was a forest was easier than it was under the florescent lights of my room. My room had become a constant reminder for everything that it was: a luxury, a deal I never made to keep me happy, and a reminder. And for everything that it wasn't: a home, a family, an outside.

On the surface, I could picture the first time I ever flew with the Flock. Seeing the buildings and the lake, it now felt like another time. The sunrises I would watch when I thought everyone else was asleep. The first time I kissed Fang, the last time I kissed him, the night when I sat with him on the roof, the small things he had done, like held my hand and played with my hair, when we had talked for hours just sitting together and speaking, when he came with me to the School.

Everything I had learned to know and everything I had learned to love was gone, stolen from me from The School. I could feel my anger begin to rise as a loud crash sounded. No, it wasn't a crash, it had been an explosion. I felt the sound reverberate against my skull as I sank to my knees and cradled my head. Heightened hearing didn't help in loud circumstances.

I was still rattled when I leaned against the wall and pulled myself to my feet. What had that been? Who was that? Was it even caused by a person? I wasn't thinking straight and I had too many questions to just focus on one.

Voices familiar ones, echoed down the hallways. "You're sure she always comes this way?" One asked. Fang, it sounded like Fang. A girlish voice retorted, "Of course I'm sure!" Foxx. It was Fang and Foxx.

As they rounded the corner I saw that Fang's expression was hopeful but grim. Foxx was bubbling with excitement. "Skylar!" He called, the noise made my head hurt even more. He jogged to me and laced our fingers tightly together. "Sorry," he whispered, "I forgot how much the sound affects you."

I nodded, "What's going on?" Fang's lips twisted into a grin, "They came." "The Flock?" I asked. "Yes," When I grabbed Foxx's hand, Fang began dragging me down corridors and corners until I no longer knew where we were. I questioned, "How can you be sure it' them?"

"Because they told me their plan and for what to look for when they came," Fang's grip on my wrist was so strong it almost hurt. "You knew!" I accused, "You knew they had a plan and you didn't tell me."

"Skylar, they had you drugged up for two days when we got here." Anger flashed in his eyes. "If I had told you the School would have found out." His tone was so harsh I found myself flinching.

Fang seemed to notice out of the corner of his eyes, he stopped and turned towards me, opening his mouth to say something. He wore an expression that looked almost foreign on his face. Remorse.

Foxx stepped between us, no doubt expecting the worst from him and said, "Leave. Her. Alone." Her voice was quiet, calm, and controlled. She enunciated every word.

Fang sighed through his nose and kept walking. I pulled my hand out of his grasp, but still followed. Anger flashed in his eyes again, but so did pain.

Eraser's seemed to apparate before us, so quickly I barely even saw them. They had been waiting. One of them held a gun, the other stood behind with fists at the ready. I dropped Foxx's and stepped forward, so did Fang. We were creating a wall in front of Foxx. "Now!" Fang instructed.

I advanced forward until the barrel of the gun was pointed at my chest. "What are you doing?!" Fox exclaimed.

The eraser looked at me confusedly, most likely wondering why I had surrender myself when it seemed as if I was about to attack. Quickly, I grabbed the barrel with one of my hands. And with the other, I snapped the eraser's hand away until I was holding the gun. I pointed it at the two beasts and snarled, "Run."

Their eyes widened as they spun around and sprinted. I wasn't a killer, and I wasn't going to become one. Fang looked mildly impressed and Foxx was gaping. I couldn't help the smile that twitched on my lips. Then I remembered why we were here.

I felt the corners of my mouth tug downwards once more, "We have to go." "We're meeting them towards the northeast corner." Fang's voice was cold and emotionless once more, the moment was over. I nodded and grabbed Foxx's hand. "What just happened?" She asked curiously as we ran. I shrugged.

I didn't know how Fang knew every turn we had to take and how long each hallway was. He had been planning this for a while. I swallowed the anger and hurt, the bitterness pooling in my stomach. I couldn't be mad, not right now. Later, I promised myself, I am definitely discussing this with him later.

We came upon a window, one of the only windows in the entire building. The Flock was hovering outside, wings beating powerfully in the nightly wind. Foxx appeared awestruck once more, "Who are they?" "They're our family," Fang and I answered in unison.

 **Author's Note: Hi guys! Sorry i'm a little bit late with this chapter, but anyway. We're so close to 100 reviews! Keep reviewing and I'll announce the winner in the next chapter. Thanks. XOXO- Skai.**


	26. Chapter 26: A Blessing and a Curse

"We'll have to break the glass," Fang remarked. I scanned the room, looking for something to shatter it. "Aha!" I tentatively picked up a heavy, red fire extinguisher. Fang held out his palms, gesturing for me to hand it to him.

I ignored him and thrust it into the surface anyway. There was a loud crash before the tinkling of broken shards hitting the ground sounded. Fang shook his head but said nothing. The edges of the window still protruded sharply in pointed spikes.

"Let's get Foxx out first," I said. Fang nodded. "This is Foxx, can someone carry her for a second?" I called out.

Max's voice replied, "I'll do it!" Fang and I lifted her through the window, careful not to cut her body on the glass. I stepped cautiously around the shards, as my feet were bare and so were Fang's.

When her body tumbled over the edge, I heard an "Oof!" "I've got her," Max reassured. I responded, "Thanks!"

"You next," Fang told me. "No you," I said. "Besides, you can help me out when you're done." Fang looked reluctant but eventually eased himself through the window. He had a more muscular and broad body, so he had to take extra precautions.

He reached back in for me when he was done. I had to keep my wings tucked closely in and I was just barely avoiding slicing my abdomen. I heard familiar growls behind me. I gasped, and in doing so lost my balance. I hissed in pain as glass cut into my side. Though it was shallow, it hurt like hell.

I grit my teeth from crying out. "Eraser's," I ground out. "I know," Fang was trying to shroud himself in calmness, but his panic was evident in his clumsy but efficient way of pulling me out. It wasn't hard considering both Foxx and I had small enough bodies to worm our way through. I would have fallen had he not been ready to catch me. I found myself being clutched to his chest, my arms wound around his neck.

I extended my wings and jerked away from him, acutely aware of the stinging and burning on my ribs. Tears pricked the back of my eyes from the pain of my scrapes. I knew I was being petty and shallow to Fang, but I was mad… And hurt. I wasn't going to focus on the logical side of things, just the part of me that was feeling. I needed to stop, I was going to stop, I mentally scolded myself.

Another pained expression flitted over Fang's features. "Are you alright," he asked. I noticed the blood soaking through my white shirt. "I'm fine," I lied. He looked skeptical but didn't answer again. "Eraser's," Max pointed to the window, where an eraser was struggling to fit is large body into the small frame. "We need to go."

I glanced at the rest of the Flock. Dylan grimaced at the sight of me, sadly, as if he were in pain too, murmured, "Skylar." He said my name like a blessing and a curse. My best friend, my brother.

Both Angel's and Nudge's faces were white with terror. But at what? I followed their line of sight to myself, back to the blood. "Really," I supplied. "I'm fine." Pain was radiating from my wound and my sight was growing blurry. "No you're not," Angel argued. "I can read your mind. You're hurting badly." The edges of my vision were clouded with black spots that were spreading over the expanse of my sight.

I opened my mouth to tell her she was wrong, and she needed to get out of my head. But I found myself losing all sense of coherent thinking as my world went dark. I was vaguely aware of being caught by strong arms and voices echoed in my head. Then... I fainted.

 **Later:**

"Skylar!" A voice whispered. Or at least it sounded like a whisper to me. Max's voice then quipped, "I'm sorry for this." What were they talking about? I wondered.

Suddenly, it was as if my head had been submerged in ice. Frigid water was poured over my face. I opened my mouth to breathe but I simply inhaled it instead.

I sat up, gasping for breath. I could feel the water in my throat, blocking my airways. Fang began patting my back hard. "Nice job," Fang quipped. "You choked her."

Max looked pointedly at him, "Correction, I woke her up." Fang's eyes narrowed, "By choking her." "Details, details," she excused.

My lungs burned as I coughed until I could finally breathe again. "Both of you... Shut up," I wheezed.

Then the first round of pain began to hit from my side. It was as if the wound had been doused in fire, the skin was burning with white hot pain.

"Don't let her touch it!" Fang grabbed my hands before I clutch my ribs. "You can't touch it, you'll make the bleeding worse," he informed me, stressed.

Tears began to stream down my face besides my best efforts to not cry. I grit my teeth but it still didn't hold back the scream. I screamed until it was as if my lungs were bleeding.

Fang's eyes widened in horror. He held my torso up so I couldn't curl into myself and make the injury worse. Every muscle in my body told me to grab my side and curl into a ball. To make the pain stop.

"Please," I whimpered. Fang shut his eyes and wouldn't look at me. Another wave of pain washed over me, it was cold.

I felt as if my entire stomach was frozen with ice and sharp cold needles that poked every inch of my flesh. It wasn't as bad as the last. But it still left me screaming.

My next plea came out as a yell. "Please!" I was begging. "Stop it! Stop what you're doing to her!" Dylan roared.

Max jumped to Fang's defense, "He's not doing anything." Dylan looked prepared to hurt somebody.

"Don't you dare," Iggy stepped in front of Max. Max ignored them and turned to the rest of the Flock, "Into the next room. Now!"

Foxx refused to leave. "Go now," Max ground out as yet another heated feeling seared my side and I screeched. The pain ripped through me.

"I'm not leaving her," Foxx stood her ground. "Skylar's going to get us kicked out of the hotel," Iggy was rushing around the room, looking for something. Finally he picked up a small towel.

Max was furious but turned her attention away from Foxx. "Do it." Iggy approached me, but I didn't focus on him. The pain was blinding and the tears blurred my vision. "I'm sorry."

I felt the towel being stuffed into my mouth, muffling the screams. Fang's grip on me was tight and his eyes were squeezed shut.

It was an eternity, years passed during the time of the pain, the agony, and the screams. Every fiber of my being was scorched with fire and bitten by the cold. But when pain stopped, my skin was normal. No burns, no frost. Just skin. Normal skin

I was panting and crying. Trying to breathe and trying assure myself it was over. Shivers racked my body; Hiccups surged through my throat and tears stung my eyes.

Fang slowly lifted up the hem of my shirt until all of my side was exposed. The tape from the bandages were being ripped of my skin when several gasps erupted.

"It's gone," Foxx remarked quietly. Fang's fingertips gently traced my ribs. He was watching me closely to observe any reaction. My body felt heavy with exhaustion but all traces of excruciating pain was gone.

"She healed herself," Fang muttered. Dylan was slumped on the floor next to the bed I was laying on, "She did."

"I'm in the room you know," I quietly responded. My voice was raw and scratchy. Dylan barked out a laugh but Fang didn't move.

I wanted to sit up and face everybody, but I didn't trust my body to do it. I took in a shuddering breath.

Cautiously, I began to use my hands to push myself up into a sitting position. When I was all the way up, I loosed a breath I hadn't known I was holding in. "I'm fine," I stated.

"You said that the last time too," Max replied. I glared at her, she stared back unflinchingly. "Sorry, but you're in no state to hurt me right now."

I let out a breathy laugh. She smiled and tilted her head backward in relief. Somehow the fact that she cared about me made feel… Good.

I had never expected Max to like me very much. But it was a possibility she was just glad the shrieking was over. I grinned a hollow smile anyway.

Fang's entire body had gone still. He wasn't moving, and it didn't even look like he was breathing. "Fang?" I asked. He met my eyes. Swiftly, he stood up and strode out of the room. He was gone with the slam of a door.

The room was cloaked in silence until Max questioned, "Would you like anything. Water? A shower?" I thought over it for a while. "Both of those things sound great," I thanked her.

I tried to hide the sadness that I felt when Fang had left. What had I done? Was he mad at me? Was he sickened by me? Maybe by my powers?

The questions I had no clue as to what the answers were shrouded me as I felt the hot water pellet my shoulders therapeutically. They never left my thoughts.

I was brushing out the tangles in my silver hair when I took in my reflection. My eyes were haunted and wide, scared. My lips were dry and cracked.

All of the weight I had gained back from the time I had been with the Flock was still there. My being was skeletal, just thin. This time, the School hadn't been concerned with how I handled malnutrition, just how I handled my powers.

I tore my gaze away from the mirror and dressed quickly in grey shorts and a black tshirt Max had given me. When I exited the bathroom, Fang stood waiting. I stopped dead in my tracks.

I opened my mouth to speak but nothing came out. Everyone else was in the other room sleeping.

"I'm sorry," I decided on. Fang looked shocked and angry, the emotions I knew he only let me see. "You're sorry?" He stuttered with disbelief. "For what?"

I bit my lip, "For making you mad? For… For being me I guess." That was the conclusion I had come to, he was mad at me for being me. For being weak and stupid and not being able to endure.

For the same reasons every scientists at the School told me why I was a failure. Because that was what they did, made me feel like nothing, then gave me something, like a room so I would feel like I was being given something I didn't deserve. I owed them.

Fang's eyes hardened a bit, but not at me. "Don't you ever apologize for that again." "But I-." He held up a hand to stop me, "You haven't done a thing wrong. Not you, not your," he trailed off as if looking for the words, "abilities. Skylar, I'm not mad at you. Not even close. And if anyone has a right to be mad, it's you."

I wasn't angry anymore. I was tired, drained, and dejected. "I'm not mad at you," I told him.

He looked at me sadly, "I know. Before I was just upset. You were in pain and I couldn't stop it. I just had to watch you scream and cry. God, it was the worst moment of my life.

"You were begging me to stop and to help you, and I couldn't. I'm so sorry." Fang appeared as tired as I felt.

"You have nothing to apologize for. I didn't know I did that to you. I am sorry I put you through that," I apologized. He grimaced, "Stop apologizing. You didn't do anything wrong." I blinked back the tears that were forming in my eyes. I had cried enough.

I closed the distance between us and kissed him. His mouth was hot against mine. My heart began to pound in my chest so loudly I was worried he could hear it. His hands snaked around my hips but he held me as if I was glass. As if I was breakable and fragile.

I bit his bottom lip softly and twisted my hands into his hair. I wasn't going to shatter, I was alive and breathing and I wanted him. He remained reluctant for a few more moments before returning my intensity.

My blood was electricity in my veins and I was full and empty all at once; Nervous and safe. When we pulled apart, both of us were gasping for breaths. I smiled and leaned my head against his chest, where it fell due to my lack of height in comparison to him. "I love you," he whispered into my hair. I felt another jolt of electricity at his words. "I love you too."

I fell asleep next to Fang, (our clothes remained on,) with his arms wrapped around my waist. Covered in his warmth and my exhaustion, I fell asleep almost instantaneously. Wrapped in life and life in love.

 **Fang's POV:**

Skylar was dead asleep next to me. She looked so calm and peaceful despite the day's events. Her damp hair fell into her face and I tucked it behind her ear. Her mouth moved with words I wasn't able to decipher.

I was still shaken by what had happened. I had felt fear before, true and utter fear, but never the terror that had rushed through me as she yelled. I didn't know if I could ever endure it again. Like I had told her, it was the worst moment of my life.

I had felt so helpless. I almost shivered at the thought. When she had said she was fine afterwards, I couldn't cope. I didn't know if Skylar was lying because I wasn't sure how she had endured twice as much as I had in that time and was fine. Probably more than twice as much.

Then I left her and hurt her, again, considering I hadn't told her about the plan. I had caused her more pain than I had ever intended to; and I found myself hurting alongside her because of it.

 **Author's Note: Hi guys! So I have two things to tell you. 1. I want to see if anybody can find out where the last line of Skylar's POV is from. Please don't look it up. It's not a contest or anything I'm just curious to know. 2. The 100th reviewer is SnowCrystal of Thunderclan. Congratulations! Private Message me your OC or ideas when you can. I also really appreciate all your consistent reviews, they mean so much to me and I love to hear from you.**


	27. Chapter 27: -Fang

Skylar's POV:

I awoke alone. The bed was cold beside me and the comforter was pulled neatly around my shoulders. I shoved the blankets off me, standing up.

I paced around the room and checked the bathroom. Fang was gone. I began to stress, pulling my arms around myself when I noticed a piece of paper sitting on the bedside table. The letter was written in Fang's surprisingly nice handwriting, and it was addressed to me. My stomach dropped.

 _Dear Skylar,_

 _I love you. I don't know any other way to put it, because I've never said those words to anyone else but my family. I love you, and that's why I'm leaving. I can't feel the way I'm feeling, not right now. We're dealing with the School and I got an email last night from a reviewer on a blog I've been writing for the past few months. There's another group, the Jekyll's. I left some research on the Jekyll's beneath this letter, don't track them down. I'm only giving you the information so you're prepared if anything were to happen._

 _My point is, I don't know how to feel the way I feel about you and also try and fix things. I've been trying to shut down the School, in more ways than you know. And I will, I promise I will. I'm also trying to bring down the Jekyll's. I have a plan, don't worry, and I know some people._

 _I'll try to figure things out, I'm going to bring down the groups that threaten the Flock and you, (as dramatic as that sounds.) I need to do that, and I need to do it without the Flock._

 _Yesterday, I felt something I've never felt before. Terror. And I felt it because I was terrified for you. I've never been so scared, not when it was my life on the line, or my family's. I'm going to make sure I never have to be that scared for you again, and you'll never have to deal with that again. If I'm constantly trying to protect you, I can't finish this._

 _The truth is you're beautiful. I don't need to tell you you're beautiful physically as well. While I love that, it's not what I love you for._

 _You're beautiful when you cry, because even when you cry you're still strong. You're one of the strongest people I've met, so I know you can be fine without me._

 _You're beautiful when you look at things. When you look at things, you look at them. You find the beauty in things I had never even paid attention to before. You see the world for all it's beauty and greatness, not for everything that's wrong with the world._

 _You're beautiful in the way you're selfless. In the way you'd help anyone you could. You have such little self regard it scares me sometimes, but you do it because you see the value in other's lives. Even more than your own. You care for others so deeply you'd hurt yourself for them._

 _It's my turn to be selfless for you, and selfish. Angel predicted I was going to be the first to die, and I'm not going to take anyone along with me. Especially you. But if I die while trying to keep you and the Flock safe, I'm okay with that. I am._

 _Please don't try to find me. This is the hardest thing I've ever done in my life,_

 _besides watching you be in pain. I couldn't say goodbye to you this morning. I know you'd ask me to come back, and I would, because I can't say no to you. But all the same problems would still be there, and you wouldn't be safe._

 _Take care of Foxx, Angel, Nudge, and Gazzy. Watch out for Max and Iggy, they're often too busy looking out for other people. Tell Dylan he's a good guy, and I appreciate him making sure you were okay. Ask him to keep doing that for me._

 _And please stay you, please don't allow me leaving to change you. I'm leaving because I don't want you to change. I don't want you to harden, or get hurt. I don't want you to go from alive to dead. I love you._

 _-Fang._

I was numb. I was numb all over. I couldn't feel, I couldn't think, I couldn't do anything. A knock on the door sounded. I didn't respond and Dylan entered the room. "Where's Fang?" I didn't answer.

I finally looked up from the letter in my hands. "What's that?" He asked, honesty and curiously.

I broke.

 **Author's Note: Hi guys! So I am going to write a sequel to Silver Wings. It follows both Fang and Skylar from the end of this. Thank you so much to all of you who have followed, favorited, and reviewed. I seriously can't thank you all enough for encouraging me to keep writing when I felt like it was pointless and useless. I felt as if I would never be a good enough writer. If you have any thoughts, ideas, and opinions, please leave them in a review. Even the short ones count. I will be posting the new story very soon, within two weeks at most. I am trying to think of a story name. If you have any ideas, let me know. I'm not going to make the title related to the plot of the next story, it just has to relate to "Silver Wings." So feel free to come up with anything, (within reason.) I might also still post on Silver Wings one shots from the past and etc. Thanks. XOXO- Skai.**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own any of the parts of Fang's letter that James Paterson wrote. I didn't write them. All rights go to rightful owners. I also don't own "wrapped in life and life in love." That belongs to Ed Sheeran, (it's from the song Afire Love by him,) and other rightful owners.**


	28. Wings of Darkness

So I just wanted to let you guys know that the sequel to Silver Wings has been posted. It's called Wings of Darkness, if you can think of a better wing related name... please tell me. I know it's pretty bad.

But I am following a plot plan, so less randomness and better chapters. Yay!

I've also gotten myself an editor. She's a good friend of mine, her username is **inthebookining** , she writes stories for teen wolf and some other stuff so I recommend to go check her out.

Thanks! XOXO- Skai.


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